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Given the considerable changes in federal legislation and the pressing requirements that colleges and universities develop policies and practices that meet the needs of victims and of those accused of sexual assault, there is a critical need to document and understand how colleges are handling these demands and coordinating campus approaches to investigation and adjudication of sexual assaults. In 2015, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded a project to commence January 2016, designed t...

OVW TA provider, IACP is pleased to announce the publication of a new resource for law enforcement and others who interview victims, the “Successful Trauma Informed Victim Interviewing” document. This document demonstrates how trauma-informed interview techniques can be used to reframe interview questions that may be perceived by a victim as blaming them for their actions in a manner that helps victims retrieve memories from a traumatic event and assists law enforcement in gathering...

Authored by: Jalisia Manning, Fahrenheit Creative Group Two months, ago I started a new job at a marketing agency. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I had no idea I would be working on a project focused on eliminating sexual assault on college and university campuses. I also didn’t expect to be asked to write a blog for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I have absolutely zero personal experience with sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking, so anything I...

Authored by Joecephus Martin, Fahrenheit Creative Group and The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects It’s easy for me to take sides in most things; there is a lot of black and white. But, as many students on college campuses across the country learn every day, there are also many shades of gray. Understanding what has contributed to campus cultures that have been permissive of sexual assault at times and loathe to act at others requires us to spend a significant amount of time inside the gray. Those...

Authored by Kennedy Jones, Fahrenheit Creative Group Through online movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, we have watched grief and sadness turn into fearlessness and solidarity. Every day, thousands of Black women are finding the courage to speak out about their past traumas, including sexual assault. But at what cost? With the outpour of testimonials from sexual assault survivors, it is worth exploring whether or not social media is an appropriate or adequate forum for individuals livin...

Authored By: Elaina Jackson, Fahrenheit Creative Group, and Margaree Jackson, The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects I am a mother of three girls, ages 10, 14, and 22. The idea that one day one of my girls could end up in a mentally or physically abusive relationship terrifies me. No matter how much I think I have prepared them to face the challenges of the world. No matter how much I tell them that they are loved, enough, beautiful, and powerful, I have come to learn that women from a variety of...

“A lot of the time people think that we’re young, and so it [the domestic violence] can’t be that bad.” View Kim’s Story “Over the last year of our 4-year relationship, I cannot begin to count the number of times I attempted to break up with him. When I would try he would threaten the safety of me and my family, or threaten to commit suicide.” View Survivors Story “I stayed because I was afraid. I stayed because I was full of shame and embarrassment. I stayed because I knew I would be judg...

Stalking is a very serious and all-too-common crime. An estimated 6 to 7.5 million people in the United States are stalked every year, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. In fact, because of the prevalence of stalking, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified it as a public health issue that is critical for individuals and organizations to understand and work to prevent. National Stalking Awareness Month, which is observed each January, is...

Although campus climate surveys can be useful for assessing programming and service needs, evaluating services, and generally tracking prevalence rates over time, they aren’t the right option for every institution. This fact sheet describes alternatives that can be used in lieu of climate surveys or in conjunction with climate surveys to better understand sexual misconduct on your campus.

This fact sheet provides resources and tips for why and how to adapt campus climate surveys to meet the unique needs of minority serving institutions and community colleges. The information and general principles are applicable to adapting surveys at any institution, but the examples and the student needs identified apply to these specific types of institutions.