14Mar

Vice President Joe Biden Final Push To End Campus Sexual Assault

Joe Biden Final Push To End Sexual Assault In Campus

5th January 2017, was a big day for the Obama Administration’s efforts to end sexual assault on college campuses.

With just two weeks to go in office, Vice President Joe Biden released his last call to action for the "It’s on Us” campaign, calling for university administrators to "step up” and end sexual assault on college campuses.

The White House hosted the final ‘It’s On Us’ summit, an event focused on stopping sexual violence against students that will sum up a six-year initiative.

In addition, the White House released its second and final report on student sexual assault and a guide for university and college presidents, chancellors, and senior administrators.

‘It’s On Us’ and The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault

‘It’s On Us’ has three main components:

  • Consent education
  • Increasing bystander intervention
  • Creating an environment that supports survivors

It dates back to April 2011, when Biden and then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued comprehensive guidance that reminded colleges that under federal civil rights laws they are not only obligated to respond to sexual assault, but also prevent it.

Three years later, in January 2014, the president, and vice-president established the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.

A statement read by the VP included a preview of the guide from the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, highlighting a few key steps to address campus sexual assault, including:

  • Sending a clear message to students, faculty, administrators, coaches, and campus safety personnel that sexual misconduct will not be tolerated and survivors must be supported.
  • Conducting a campus climate survey to understand the scope of the problem on your campus
  • Training all students during orientation and via "booster shots” throughout their college education on issues like, consent, relationship violence, sexual misconduct, stalking, and bystander intervention, where to find resources for help, and where to file complaints. Special attention should be paid to certain areas, such as athletics and Greek life, which have historically been sites of sexual violence at many institutions of higher education.