The last couple of years have brought more business for groups that advocate for rape prevention programs on college campuses, in light of two very public high-profile sexual assault cases — the 2010 Lizzy Seeberg case at Notre Dame University and the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Pennsylvania State University. Alison Kiss, executive director of the Clery Center for Security on Campus, notes, “We have seen an increase in institutions looking to our organization for training, resources and technical assistance.”
Indeed, Saundra Schuster, an attorney at the National Center for Higher Education Risk (NCHER), agrees. “There is a great deal of concern on the part of schools to review and often revise their existing policies, or in many cases, create policies that address sexual harassment and sexual violence.”
The “Dear Colleague Letter” by Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn H. Ali at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on April 4, 2011 and the breaking of the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State created a vortex of a wake-up call to campus officials, says Schuster. “The fact that the OCR began doing voluntary compliance reviews and not merely responding to a complaint communicated to schools that they were serious about the enforcement of the Title IX Guidance.”
Recent media storms around rape cases at universities also brought a wave of victims coming forward to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, says Megan Erhardt, communications manager at RAINN.
Getting Creative
Last October, RAINN and Cosmopolitan magazine partnered to publicize the issue with a contest for the best multimedia projects about sexual violence on campus. Judged on creativity and effectiveness in communicating the message, the submissions were part of RAINN Day activities.
“Students are being more creative,” says Erhardt, citing how San Jose State University hosted a flashmob, called “Dancing in the RAINN,” and Miami University in Ohio decorated umbrellas. Each school has to tailor its campaigns and awareness programs to its populations, notes Erhardt. “There are lots of different ways to hold these events.”
