Talking Stick - January/February 2015 - 50

Not Alone
When Barack Obama announced the creation of a White House task force focused
on the prevention of student sexual assault, he stated in the memorandum that,
while "schools have made progress in addressing rape and sexual assault, more
needs to be done to ensure safe, secure environments for students of higher
education. . . . Reports show, however, that institutions' compliance with these
Federal laws is uneven and, in too many cases, inadequate. Building on existing
enforcement efforts, we must strengthen and address compliance issues and
provide institutions with additional tools to respond to and address rape and sexual
assault."
Along with mobilizing the Title IX Question and Answer document, the task
force published a report in April 2014 , Not Alone: The First Report of the White
House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, which made several
recommendations regarding the future of sexual violence response on college and
university campuses.

IDENTIFY

INITIATE

Identify sexual violence issues on
the campus level by conducting
institutional climate surveys. Colleges
and universities will be asked to
participate voluntarily in 2015 as part
of a trial run, with potential legislative
or administrative requirements for all
campuses to participate by 2016.

Initiate trauma-informed training for
school officials and local law enforcement
to adequately address the special nuances
associated with sexual violence that
differentiate it from other crimes.

IMPLEMENT
Implement current prevention strategies
and research new ones for adoption
by institutions, specifically those that
engage men as allies and empowered
activists or serve as bystander
intervention programs.

ENSURE
Ensure that institutions are effectively
responding to students who are
survivors of sexual violence by
identifying confidential resources they
can access to get help and ensure that
there is clarity for survivors between
those school officials who have a duty
to report incidents and those who do
not so they can make empowered
choices about their next steps.

PROVIDE
Provide institutions with a checklist
in drafting and/or re-evaluating their
sexual misconduct policies, including
clear verbiage as to what does and does
not constitute consent to sexual activity.
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TAlkiNg STick

IMPROVE
Improve school disciplinary processes
to minimize the negative impacts
current systems can have on survivors
of sexual violence.

BOLSTER
Bolster relationships with community
emergency, therapeutic, and legal
services by providing institutions with
advice on drafting agreements with
partner agencies to provide collaborative
assistance to students in need.

INCREASE
Increase access to and transparency of
federal enforcement information and
help individuals and institutions better
navigate government resources.

FORTIFY
Fortify enforcement procedures
through the Office for Civil Rights,
including visibility on campuses during
investigations and the streamlining of
efforts between the Departments of
Education and Justice.

that may allow conduct to continue; the
potential for re-victimization by responders
and its effect on students; appropriate
methods for responding to a student who
may have experienced sexual violence,
including the use of nonjudgmental
language; [and] the impact of trauma
on victims." In addition, it addresses an
explanation of the reporting obligation for
responsible employees, including what
should be in a report, any consequences
for the failure to report, and the procedure
for responding to students' requests
for confidentiality; the students' option
to request confidentiality and available
confidential advocacy, counseling, or other
support services; and their right to file a
Title IX complaint with the school and
to report a crime to campus or local law
enforcement.
Although the Office for Civil Rights
doesn't impose a minimum number of
training hours required for completion by
employees, it does encourage institutions
to provide training on a regular basis
and to also implement a methodology to
determine whether or not the training was
effective for participants. "Institutions are
being asked to track, maintain attendance
numbers, and document learning
opportunities for our students. This can
include high impact floor programs,
passive educational bulletin boards,
posters, bathroom stall readers, online
modules, social media connectors, and
even the training provided to resident
assistants," says Jason Casares, associate
dean of students and director of the office
of student ethics at Indiana University
Bloomington, who serves as president-elect
of the Association for Student Conduct
Administration. Casares is quick to
remind professionals that the educational
requirements laid out in laws and policies
are about more than simply checking a
box. "It is about changing our culture
on every college campus, and we have
a tremendous opportunity to lead that
effort," he says. "If you were randomly
selected for an audit from the Office for
Civil Rights, what would you share from
the past three years regarding programs,
education, and training?"
Miranda Perry, a resident education
coordinator at the University Center in
Talking Stick - January/February 2015

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