All Entries in the "Sexual Assault/Harassment" Category
Study Finds a Hostile Environment for Women in the University of Colorado’s Philosophy Department
The study found that many incidents of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior occurred on social occasions when faculty and graduate students were engaging in heavy drinking.
University of Virginia to Hold Major Conference on Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses
Attending the two-day conference will be more than 200 student affairs professionals, college presidents, legal experts, and student leaders from across the United States.
Northwestern Revises Policies on Sexual Relationships Between Faculty and Students and on Sexual Misconduct
Northwestern University now prohibits all sexual relationships between faculty and undergraduate students and requires faculty and staff to report any instance of sexual misconduct of which they have become aware to the university administration.
President Obama Forms Task Force to Combat Sexual Assaults on College Campuses
The task force has been charged to formulate recommendations on how colleges should prevent and respond to incidents of sexual assault and to come up with a plan to accurately publicize educational institutions’ track records in dealing with sexual assaults on their campuses.
Reported Cases of Sexual Assault Drop at U.S. Military Academies
The study reports there were 70 sexual assaults at the three academies during the 2012-13 academic year. This was down from 80 sexual assaults in the prior academic year. Forty-five of the 70 reported cases were at the Air Force Academy.
University of New Hampshire Students Conduct Jury Polling Project in Sexual Assault Cases
The students found that in many of the cases in which the defendant was acquitted, jurors frequently blamed the victim because of what she was wearing when the attack occurred or whether or not she had been drinking prior to the assault.
University Study Finds Only a Tiny Percentage of Rape Cases Are Successfully Prosecuted
A study of rape cases in Salt Lake County, Utah, found that two thirds of the cases were never presented to the district attorney for review and only 6 percent of all rape cases resulted in convictions or guilty pleas by offenders.
University of Delaware Sued by Former Student Who Was Sexually Assaulted
When the woman reported the incident, the lawsuit claims she was not informed of her rights and was encouraged to take medical leave. According to the lawsuit, the assault was not reported to police and no campus investigation was conducted.
Legislation Would Require Maryland Colleges to Publicly Report Sexual Assaults
A bill has been introduced in the Maryland state legislature calling for colleges and universities in the state to publicly report all incidents of sexual assault on their campuses and requires colleges and universities to hire a victim’s advocate.
Advice for University and College Governing Board Members on Sexual Misconduct Issues
The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges believes that members of university governing boards must keep abreast of important issues in higher education and that the issue of sexual misconduct on campus is one of growing importance.
SUNY Signs Agreement to Combat Sexual Assault and Harassment
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that it has reached an agreement with the State University of New York system to ensure that the 29 campuses in the system respond promptly and effectively to allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
Emory University Beefs Up Efforts to Combat Sexual Assault
In 2012, Emory says that there 25 forcible sex offenses reported on its main campus. But the university is taking a number of steps in an attempt to bring down that number to zero.
Seven Women File a Lawsuit Against the University of Connecticut
Seven current or former students at the University of Connecticut have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the university failed to protect them from sexual assault on campus and did not adequately respond in the aftermath of the assaults.
Tufts University Expands Its Policies on Sexual Misconduct
Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, has expanded its policies on sexual misconduct to include sexual exploitation, voyeurism, inducing intoxification for purposes of having sex, or photographing, filming, or videotaping sexual activity without consent.
Rutgers Dean Accused of Bias Against Lesbians
Rutgers University officials stand by the dean’s decision to dismiss the employee and stated that the plaintiff was fired because she failed to meet work deadlines.
Mandated Counseling Significantly Reduces a Repeat of Intimate Partner Violence
A study lead by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that women who completed a mandatory intimate-partner violence program were less likely to be victimized again and were more likely to leave an abusive spouse or partner.
New Sexual Misconduct Policy in Effect at the University of Michigan
In the past, incidents of sexual misconduct were not formally investigated by the university unless asked to do so by the complainant. Now the university’s Title IX coordinator will review all incidents of sexual misconduct that come to the attention of university officials.
American University Professor’s Research Seeks to Curb Escalation of Domestic Violence
Rachel Louise Snyder, an assistant professor of creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University, spent three and a half years conducting research on the topic of how to prevent cases of domestic violence from escalating to incidents of domestic homicide.
Dating Violence Leads to Less Education and Lower Lifetime Earnings
A study by led by Adrienne Adams, an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University, finds that young women who experience dating violence as teenagers, tend to go on to receive lower levels of education resulting in lower lifetime earnings.
Naval Academy to Have Sexual Assault Prevention as Part of Classroom Instruction
Bill Byrne, the new commandant of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, has announced that midshipman will receive sexual assault prevention training as part of their classroom education beginning this fall.
Case Western Reserve University Revises Its Sexual Misconduct Policies
The new policy expands definitions of sexual misconduct and updates details on the hearing and appeals process. Also, members of the campus community are required to report any incident of sexual misconduct.
Yale Continues to Wrestle With Issues of Sexual Misconduct
Yale University President Peter Salovey issued an email to the university community earlier this week that reiterated his commitment to deal with the issue of sexual misconduct on campus.
Title IX Complaint Filed Against the University of Southern California
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles is the latest among a considerable group of higher educational institutions that are subjects of complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Education regarding sexual assault on campus.
Swarthmore College Takes Steps to Address Sexual Misconduct on Campus
Swarthmore College is one of several institutions of higher education that currently is under investigation by the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education. The college is is not waiting for the results of the investigation before it takes action.
Duke University Gets Tougher on Sexual Assault Penalties
Starting in the fall, any student found to be responsible for a sexual assault will be considered for expulsion from the university. In the past, the first option considered by the disciplinary board was suspension from the university for one or more semesters.
Protestors Call on the Department of Education to Do More About Sexual Assaults on Campus
A group of demonstrators assembled outside the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., demanding great enforcement of Title IX of the Higher Education Act Amendments and increased protection for women against sexual assault on college campuses.
Male Student Claims St. Joseph’s University’s Sexual Assault Disciplinary Proceedures Are Biased Against Men
According to the lawsuit filed in a Philadelphia federal court, the university “creates an environment in which a male accused is so fundamentally denied due process as to be virtually assured of a finding of guilt.”
Research Finds Gender Differences in College Students’ Communication Regarding Sexual Consent
A new study by Kristen Jozkowski, an assistant professor of community health promotion in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, found that women used more verbal strategies and men used more nonverbal strategies.
University of Virginia Scholar Testing Rape Kit Dyes That Will Work on All Skin Colors
When a health care professional treats a victim of rape, she often places a dye on the woman’s skin that illuminates all lacerations, abrasions, and tears. But one problem with the commonly used dyes is that they are ineffective on darker skins.
Women Cadets at West Point Were Unknowingly Videotaped in the Bathroom and Shower
A member of the staff at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, has been accused of videotaping women cadets without their consent. Some of the videotape footage showed the women cadets in the bathroom or in the shower.
Sexual Misconduct Complaints Filed Against Four Colleges and Universities
The complaints were filed against the University of Southern California, the University of California at Berkeley, Swarthmore College, and Dartmouth College.
Stanford University Approves New Disciplinary Procedures for Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Stanford University’s new policies for student disciplinary hearings on matters of sexual assault appear to have resulted in more students coming forward who are willing to proceed with formal complaints against their abusers.
University of Montana Reaches a Settlement on Policies Relating to Sexual Assault and Prevention
After a series of sexual assaults on campus and allegations that the university did not adequately respond to these incidents, the federal government launched an extensive investigation. The university has agreed to a settlement.
Swarthmore College to Conduct an Audit of Sexual Misconduct Policies and Procedures
After two students filed a complaint saying the college wasn’t doing enough, President Rebecca Chopp has announced a major new review of all of the college’s policies and procedures regarding sexual assault and misconduct.
Research Finds That Anthropological Field Workers Are Often Subjected to Sexual Abuse
The researchers surveyed 122 men and women who participated in anthropological field work. More than half said they had witnessed sexual harassment, physical abuse, or sexual assault while in the field.
