Beyond Triage and Title IX: Transforming College Rape

Culture Salamishah Tillet, Ph.D.

There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior. –Derek Bok

Transforming College Rape Culture

Transforming College Rape Culture

Sexual Violence is the #1 violent crime on college campuses.

1 in 5 college women report being a victim of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault.

Young Women, ages 16-24, are 38% of sexual assault victims and 80% of victims are assaulted before the age 18.

The Tipping PointWe have reached a boiling point in our

response to violence against girls and women;

We have the critical mass of American citizens who are both impacted by gender-based violence and sympathetic to the cause;

We remain vulnerable because we are in the middle of movement making.

We EXPAND the conversation

We ENCOURAGE student activism and survivor leadership

We ENVISION colleges at the forefront rather than the frontlines of ending rape culture

The Tipping Point

EXPANDthe conversation

STORY OF A RAPE SURVIVOR

(SOARS)College Campaign

Story of A Rape Survivor (SOARS)

SOARSSTORY OF A RAPE SURVIVORwww.alongwalkhome.org

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SOARS COMMUNITY IMPACT: GOALS

to increase the public awareness of sexual assault

to reduce sexual violence and re-victimization

to enhance the knowledge of and encourage the usage of local and traditional service agencies by sexual assault survivors and their significant others in underserved communities

to provide alternative models for healing for sexual assault survivors

to increase racial and cultural diversity within the sexual violence movement.

ENCOURAGE student activism &

survivor leadership

Yale University (2011)

Amherst College (2012)

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (2013, 2007)

Occidental College (2013)

37 Students and Alumni File Compliant Against Occidental College for violating equal rights standards when dealing

with rape, sexual assault and retaliation claims.

Dartmouth College (2013)

Swarthmore College (2013)

knowyourix.org

Challenges of TITLE IX

Puts students, especially survivors, in a double-bind: they are responsible for preventing gender-based violence and recovering from its traumatic impact

Puts students in adversarial relationship with university

Lag time

Lack of transparency

Lack of “teeth”

SAFER

SAFER

ENVISION colleges at the forefront of transforming rape culture

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

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Columbia University,New York Times (2000)

Columbia University,Columbia Daily Spectator (2003)

Columbia University,BWOG (2014)

Columbia University,BWOG (2014)

Students prefer (for any number of reasons) to go through their campus judiciary process rather than local law enforcement

Serial sexual assailant on campus

3 young women who filed with the Office of Sexual Misconduct. Only one case, was the alleged assailant found responsible and that was eventually overturned on appeal

Question of Resources

Even when the Gender-Based Misconduct Conduct policies are followed, survivors are still vulnerable and the severity does not match the crime

Columbia University,Columbia Daily Spectator (2014)

Transforming College Rape Culture

Students and survivors are already at the forefront of ending college rape

Colleges should not have adversarial relationship with student and survivor activists; but instead, see them as central to the university’s mission of education, innovation and social transformation;

Colleges should not be in triage mode when it comes to issues of gender-based violence; rather, they position themselves as the vanguards and trailblazers for ending the global epidemic.

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