All Entries in the "Sexual Assault/Harassment" Category
The National Academies Urge Academia to Take a Stand Against Sexual Harassment
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has issued a new report that notes that 58 percent of women faculty and staff in academia (all disciplines, not limited to science, engineering, and medicine) have experienced sexual harassment.
Do Sexual Assault Prevention Programs on College Campuses Actually Work?
A new study by researchers at the University of California finds that sexual assault prevention training programs aimed at men who are a high risk of committing sexual assault, may not be working and may in fact have a “boomerang effect” that increases the odds that they will be an offender.
How College Football Games Impact Sexual Assault on College and University Campuses
The data showed that when a college or university’s football team played at home, incidents of sexual assault increased by 41 percent. Even when a college or university played on the road reports of sexual assault on the home campus of the football team playing on the road increased by 15 percent.
The University of Iowa Removes Name of Stephen Wynn From its Institute for Vision Research
Stephen Wynn, who built a vast empire of casino properties in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, has been accused of sexual misconduct by several former employees over the course of many years. In 2013, Wynn made a $25 million pledge to the university for research to cure hereditary blindness.
Study Finds That Nearly One Third of College Women With Disabilities Are Victims of Sexual Assault
According to the report from the National Council on Disability, 31.6 percent of undergraduate females with disabilities reported nonconsensual sexual contact involving physical force or incapacitation. The authors state that “students with disabilities remain on the periphery and are not addressed regarding sexual assault prevention, outreach, and services.”
Penn Study Finds That Vast Majority of Intimate Partner Violence Incidents Involve Unmarried Couples
A new study led by Susan B. Sorenson, a professor of social policy and the director of the Evelyn Jacobs Ortner Center on Family Violence at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, found that more than 80 percent of intimate partner violence incidents occur between boyfriends and girlfriends. Only 15 percent of the incidents involved married couples.
A Shocking Report on Sexual Assault at Tulane University in New Orleans
More than 40 percent of undergraduate women students at Tulane University who responded to the survey reported that they had been victims of sexual assault since coming to campus. Some 24 percent of undergraduate women respondents reported that they had been raped.
Utah State University Gets Serious About Sexual Assault Awareness Training
Utah State University now requires all incoming students to take an online sexual assault awareness course. Those who do not complete the training during their first semester are not allowed to enroll in classes for their second semester.
University of Hawai’i Releases Results of its Comprehensive Sexual Harassment Survey
The results of the survey showed that 85.3 percent of all respondents said that they felt the likelihood of them experiencing sexual harassment was little or not at all. But 19 percent of students who were in a serious relationship with a partner reported that they had been a victim of domestic violence.
Sexual Harassment Survey of Attendees of American Association of Political Science Conventions
The results showed that 51 percent of the women respondents reported that they had not been subjected to any form of harassment or condescending behavior at an annual meeting. But this means that nearly half of all respondents had a negative experience.
University of Nebraska Research Examines How Intoxication Affects How Men Look at Women
A new study led by Abigail R. Riemer, a graduate student in social psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, finds that as the level of intoxication increases, men spend less time looking at the faces of women and more time examining other parts of their bodies.
How Two-Year and Four-Year Colleges Differ on Sexual Assault Prevention Efforts
A new report from EVERFI, the large educational technology company, examines the differences between community colleges and four-year institutions in how they deal with issues of drug and alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and sexual assault, and mental health issues.
Study Finds Sexual Assault Rates Are Higher in the General Population Than on College Campuses
A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan finds that one in four women in the United States will experience forced intercourse by the time they’re 44 years old. But women who have no or little college education are 2.5 times as likely to have experienced forced sexual intercourse than women with a four-year college education.
Geography Scholar Files a Sexual Discrimination Lawsuit Against the University of North Carolina
The suit alleges gender discrimination and retaliation against associate professor of geography Altha Cravey after she raised concerns about sexual and racial discrimination at the university.
A New Interactive Tool Provides Information on Sexual Assault on College Campuses
The interactive map allows users to get statistics on sexual assault at the colleges and unviersities that are featured. It also lists an educational institution’s policies on sexual assault education, prevention measures, investigation procedures, and survivor resources.
Report Finds That 79 Percent of Public Schools Reported Zero Incidents of Sexual Harassment
Despite the evidence that there is large spread sexual harassment in schools, the American Association of University Women report finds that 79 percent of all schools nationwide reported zero incidents of sexual harassment to authorities. The report concludes that “this outcome is statistically impossible.”
New Smartphone App Gives College Women Tools to Help Prevent Sexual Assault
A new smartphone app has been developed by the Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire attorney general’s office to help women avoid sexual assault and to provide help if do become victims.
Department of Education Rescinds Obama Administration’s Guidelines on Dealing With Campus Sexual Assault
The U.S. Department of Education stated that the Obama administration’s guidelines “ignored notice and comment requirements, created a system that lacked basic elements of due process, and failed to ensure fundamental fairness.”
Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Environmental Sciences
Erika Marín-Spiotta, an associate professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is partnering with scientific societies and geoscience faculty colleagues from colleges and universities across the country to develop sexual harassment bystander intervention training for the earth, space and environmental sciences.
Survey Finds Widespread Sexual Harassment in Astronomy and Planet Science
Researchers surveyed a large group of professionals in the field of astronomy and planet science. They found that 39 percent of all respondents reported that they had been verbally harassed and 9 percent stated that they have been physically harassed at work within the past five years. Women of color were the most likely to be victims.
College Women Who Hold on to Traditional Gender Stereotypes May Be Prone to Unhealthy Relationships
A new study led by Stacey J.T. Hust, an associate professor in the College of Communication at Washington State University in Pullman, finds that women college students who held traditional stereotypes on the role of women in society were less likely to refuse unwanted sexual advances.
In 2015, 89 Percent of All Colleges and Universities Reported Zero Incidents of Rape
The report by the American Association of University Women also found that only 9 percent of campuses reported an incident of domestic violence. About 10 percent of all colleges and universities reported an incident of dating violence and only 13 percent of all colleges and universities reported stalking incidents.
Stanford University Offers Students a New Sexual Assault Reporting Tool
A new system allows students to document sexual misconduct or sexual assault in a secure web environment when the incident is fresh in their minds. They can then choose to submit the information at a later time or choose an option in which an incident is reported to the university only if the same offender has been identified by another student in another incident.
Major Research Universities Outline Their Commitment to Addressing Sexual Assaults and Misconduct
The Association of American Universities has issued a new report detailing how its 62 member institutions have enacted or changed policies and procedures dealing with sexual assaults and misconduct on their campuses.
Indiana University Just Says No to Student Athletes With a History of Sexual Violence
The new policy disqualifies any prospective student-athlete with a history of sexual or domestic violence from participating in any intercollegiate activities, including competition, or receiving athletically related financial aid.
Are Colleges Adequately Protecting the Rights of the Accused in Campus Sexual Assault Cases?
The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), based in Irvine, California, recently released a new report on campus sexual assault investigations. It lists seven fairness standards that it thinks should be applied for investigations of sexual assaults on college campuses.
University of Rhode Island Scholar Debuts New Online Journal on Sex Trafficking
The new online journal Dignity, supported by the library at the University of Rhode Island, deals with issues of sexual exploitation, violence, and slavery.
Kentucky Seeks to Raise Awareness About Sexual Assault on Its College Campuses
The Voice of Justice video contest invites college students to submit 30-second videos addressing the issue of sexual assault on campus. Two $500 prizes will be awarded by the office of the Kentucky Attorney General.
At the University of Texas, 15 Percent of Women Undergraduates Report Being Raped
A survey found that 15 percent of women undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin reported that they had been raped. Furthermore, 28 percent of undergraduate women said they were the victims of unwanted sexual touching, and 12 percent experienced attempted rape.
University of Texas at San Antonio President Resigns After Allegations of Misconduct
In a statement announcing that he was stepping down, President Ricardo Romo said “I have been made aware that the manner in which I embraced women made them uncomfortable and was inappropriate.”
State University of New York’s Sexual Assault and Violence Response Resources Are Now Free Online
The State University of New York announced that it is offering its Sexual Assault and Violence Response (SAVR) resources free online so that they may be accessed by any college or university or other organization that finds them useful.
University of Pennsylvania Study Examines Gun Use in Domestic Violence Incidents
Author Susan B. Sorenson, a professor of social policy, notes that using a gun is a form of coercive control, in which an abuser doesn’t necessarily want to physically hurt a victim but rather cement the power dynamic between, thus increasing the intimidation factor.
Elmira College Settles Title IX Complaint Regarding Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence
Responding to a student complaint, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education investigated Elmira College’s response to 16 incidents that occurred over a three-year period. The government found that the “college was not prompt in completing its investigation and providing determination to the complainant.”
New Research Focuses Sexual Assault Prevention Efforts on Adolescent Boys
Many sexual assault prevention programs focus on educating women on how to avoid sexual violence or on bystander prevention programs aimed at diffusing situations that may lead to sexual assault. But a new initiative seeks to prevent sexual assault at its source, the behavior of boys and young men.
A Surge in Sexual Discrimination Complaints at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights
The data shows there were 7,747 complaints relating to sexual discrimination filed with the Office for Civil Rights during the 2016 fiscal year. This was 46 percent of all complaints filed that year. Of these, most were related to Title IX provisions concerning equal opportunity for girls and women in athletics at educational institutions.
