White House Wants Campus Input on Issues of Sexual Assault

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A task force created last month by President Obama to address sexual assault on college campuses will begin holding a series of public conference calls this week. The purpose of the calls is to get ideas and input from members of college communities across the country.

The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault will hold the first session from 2-3 p.m. (CST) Wednesday, Feb. 12. This session is one of three specifically intended for students and sexual assault survivors. Anyone interested in joining this conference call, or any of the others can register online.

The task force is looking for concrete and creative ideas about how schools can prevent sexual assault, and how they can better respond when it happens - both in terms of supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable. Members of the task force specifically want to hear opinions regarding:

• Institutional policies and protocols to address sexual assault
• Responding to diverse, underserved or historically marginalized victims
• Prevention programs
• Crisis intervention and advocacy services
• Complaint and grievance procedures
• Investigation protocols
• Adjudicatory procedures
• Disciplinary sanctions
• Training and orientation modules for students, staff, and faculty

Evaluating and measuring the success of prevention and response efforts

• Sharing information with the public
• Making enforcement activities transparent and accessible
• Promoting greater coordination and consistency among federal agencies
• Maximizing the Federal Government's effectiveness in combatting campus rape and sexual assault

The listening sessions are being organized by group, and will continue through the month of February.

• Researchers and national experts on the issue are invited to join the conference from 3-4 p.m. (CST) Thursday, Feb.13.  
• Victim advocates, rape crisis center staff, and campus and community victim service providers are scheduled for 3-4 p.m. (CST) Friday, Feb. 14.
• University, college, and community college administrators and leaders will be able to take part from 1-2 p.m. (CST) Tuesday, Feb. 18.
• Alumni, parents, and other campus stakeholders are invited to participate from 3-4 p.m. (CST) Tuesday, Feb.18. 
• Civil liberties advocates will be heard from 2-3 p.m. (CST) Wednesday, Feb. 19.
• A second session for students and survivors will be held from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20.
• Campus law enforcement, local law enforcement, student conduct personnel, campus disciplinary/judicial boards, and Title IX coordinators will be heard from 3-4 p.m. (CST) Friday, Feb. 21.
• Students and survivors will have a final chance to be heard from 4-5 p.m. (CST) Tuesday, Feb. 25
• An open forum will be held from 3-4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26.

The Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, in partnership with the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, and the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, will be hosting these sessions, with colleagues from the White House, the Office of the Vice President, and the agencies serving on the task force participating as well. 

A report based on these hearings will be presented in April, with action on the task force recommendations expected by the Department of Education.