Sexual Assault Prevention and Response on College Campuses: Opportunities for Social Work Leadership

Background: Over the past decade enormous attention has been paid to the high number of sexual assaults on college and university campuses. An estimated 1 in 4 women and 1 in 22 men will experience some form of sexual assault while in college, and these numbers quickly rise when looking at intersections of identity including race, non-binary gender identities, and sexual minority statuses. Consequences of these victimizations are vast and long-lasting, ultimately limiting equal access to educational advances for victims/survivors through no fault of their own. In response to notable systemic factors and institutional cultures that facilitate the epidemic of sexual assault on college and university campuses, federal laws and policies have been enacted or enforced (e.g., Title IX, the Clery Act, and the Campus SaVE Act). As a result, U.S. colleges and universities have rapidly begun to make sweeping changes to their sexual assault and intimate partner violence response and prevention policies and procedures, including increased resources, training, and research. Faculty, as researchers and mandated reporters, are critical to the campus response to sexual assault. Social work as a profession is well-suited to address the complex impact of sexual assault in the socioecological context. Social work faculty and students have been influential in helping colleges and universities move beyond federal compliance toward implementation, enforcement, and accountability to the content of these laws and policies by advocating for the use of evidence and practice-informed response and prevention services that are victim/survivor centered. Given the current uncertain political climate and potential impact to these policies, it is even more critical for social workers and social work departments to be involved in these efforts on their campuses. Aims: This roundtable will address the following questions: (1) Why should social work faculty and departments engage in efforts to enhance prevention of and response to sexual assault on their campuses? (2) What are some ways in which social work faculty and departments have been involved in this work? (3) What are potential challenges and solutions to becoming involved in college and university campuses sexual assault and prevention efforts? Content: Presenters will highlight the diverse ways social work students and faculty across the country are working within college and university systems to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault and provide critical support services to victims/survivors. Presenters will discuss methods of collecting campus climate survey data and how to use the results to inform policies and practices; overview experiences serving on college and university sexual assault prevention taskforces; highlight the ways social work researchers can investigate and influence local, state, and national policies; and discuss a blueprint for collaborating with campus and community stakeholders in a system school to conduct sexual assault research and help campuses craft measurable action plans. This session will conclude with an interactive discussion of common pitfalls and successes from the presenters' experiences to working with students and the university community on research and practice issues related to sexual assault.