Why Are University Presidents Leaving Campus Rape Survivors Out in the Cold?
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Why Are University Presidents Leaving Campus Rape Survivors Out in the Cold?
College administrators have known about the campus rape problem for three decades, and they have been mandated to address it for two decades. So why has so little been done? One major factor among many is failed leadership at the top of the academy.
Karen Barrett first documented the campus rape problem in her 1982 article “Date Rape: A Campus Epidemic?” in Ms. magazine, and Ms. published another article on the same topic in 1985 featuring Dr. Mary Koss’ three-year study of over 7,000 students at 35 schools. Koss found that 1 in 4 college women faced rape or attempted rape during their time on campus—and not much has changed since then.
Schools have been mandated by law to address campus sexual assault for the past 20 years. The Clery Act of 1990 requires schools to accurately report their rape numbers, but campuses routinely underreport these figures. Schools were first mandated to provide support and accommodations to survivors in 1992 with the passage of the Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights, but most schools still fall short. As a graduate student in the late 1990s in a leadership position in residence life, I can attest to the fact that campus administrators at national conferences I attended were well aware of the campus rape problem.
So why has so little been done by college administrators?
A recent survey of college and university presidents from Inside Higher Ed reveals that presidents are a key part of the problem. Of all institutional players, college presidents have the most power to make change—through hiring decisions, policies and day-to-day leadership. Despite reputable studies showing that 1 in 5 female students face sexual assault, only 1 in 3 college presidents agree with the statement, “sexual assault is prevalent on college campuses,” according to the new report. Furthermore, only 6 percent of college presidents agree that sexual assault is prevalent on their campuses, when plenty of evidence otherwise exists.
Seventy-seven percent say their schools are doing a “good job” addressing the problem, while only 4 percent were willing to admit that their school does not adequately protect students. The truth is that almost no schools expel rapists or take other basic measures to prevent assaults on their campuses due to institutional fears about being sued by perpetrators or losing alumni donations if a problem is exposed.
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http://msmagazine.com/blog/2015/03/18/why-are-university-presidents-leaving-campus-rape-survivors-out-in-the-cold/
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