V-DAY & SAFER Campus Accountability Project
A Demand for College Sexual Assault Policy Reform
V-Day and Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) are proud to partner to bring a transformative policy reform initiative to college campuses. With your help, we can make colleges and universities around the United States safer for all students.
Calling All College Anti-Violence Organizers: Help Us Reach 300 Published Policies!
V-Day and SAFER are proud to announce the launch of the second annual Winter Break Challenge (WBC) which calls upon students across the country to submit their campus’ sexual violence policy to the Campus Accountability Project (CAP) Policies Database.
Beginning December 15, 2011, V-Day and SAFER are urging students to participate in the Campus Accountability Project during their winter break.
Register at www.safercampus.org and submit your school's sexual assault policy to the CAP database using an easy, step-by-step policy review form. CAP helps you identify the gaps in your school's policy and inspires concrete ideas for action on your campus.
Currently, the CAP database houses 233 policies in an online, public and searchable database, which details what colleges and universities are doing to prevent, reduce and respond to sexual violence. The database publicly recognizes the successes of some schools’ sexual assault policies while also highlighting flaws. For the Winter Break Challenge, SAFER and V-Day are asking current students and recent alums to submit their schools into the CAP database to reach a goal of 300 published policies. Soon we'll be able to look at all of the schools in the database and report back on trends across the country—your participation is key part of this national conversation.
Over the course of the next two months, SAFER will be releasing a series of training videos providing an overview of analysis and addressing the components of a comprehensive sexual assault policy: tone and definitions; primary prevention and risk reduction; crisis intervention and long-term survivor services; and finally, reporting, disciplinary procedures and oversight. The videos will provide suggestions for concrete improvement to your school's policy to strengthen prevention efforts and improve the experiences of survivors on campus.
You can help kick-start real change on campuses nationwide by encouraging your friends and fellow activists to submit to CAP. For those whose schools are already in the database, share the love by posting the Facebook event, pass along the Why Policy video, and engage with us across social media platforms.
All too often students fall through the cracks of their campus bureaucracy. Policy analysis is the first step to building an effective movement for change on campus. It’s time to hold your school accountable. Join us by supporting all students who demand the safer campuses they deserve.
PHASE 1: THE NEED FOR CHANGE -- we need your help!
- This project invites college students to become advocates by researching their schools’ sexual assault policies, and finding out what their schools are doing to prevent and respond to sexual assault.
- Students can research their school’s policies & programs and submit their findings on our National V-Day/SAFER Campus Accountability Project Database.
- To view existing data for your school or submit your findings, please register at www.safercampus.org/policies. While the database is searchable to anyone who registers, only students can submit their schools’ policy analysis. The submissions will be reviewed by trained SAFER staff, who will also be available to help you if you have any questions while completing the questionnaire.
PHASE 2: CHANGE AT YOUR SCHOOL
- After reviewing your school’s policies and programs, you may find things that you want to change. SAFER and V-Day exist to help students make real, lasting change in their communities, and they have many tools to offer you. Check out SAFER’s Activist Resource Center for information on how to organize school-wide efforts. We can help you with a number of projects, from raising awareness about sexual violence to totally reforming your school’s sexual assault policy. Trained SAFER staff are available to help you if you want to change how your school prevents and responds to sexual assault.
PHASE 3: SEEING CHANGE
- In the 2011-2012 school year, V-Day and SAFER will review the data collected, assess the state of the nation’s campus sexual assault policies, follow up with students to find out what changes they have started on their campuses, and make recommendations based on the data that you’ve collectively input.
- We will publish a revised and expanded version of SAFER’s “What Makes a Better Sexual Assault Policy?” a list of the key criteria to effectively prevent, track and respond to sexual assaults on college campuses.
- The V-Day/SAFER Campus Accountability Project Database will provide clear evidence to students and administrators—is your campus a national leader in preventing and responding to sexual assault or is it failing students when it comes to safety?
- We will begin to share our findings and recommendations with national media.
PHASE 4: CHANGE ACROSS THE NATION
- By the 2012-2013 school year, students on campuses around the country will have demanded and won changes from their administrations. V-Day and SAFER will continue to support student groups as they press for change, and we will look to them for guidance on how to carry their campaigns across the nation.
- One goal is to integrate the V-Day/SAFER Campus Accountability Project Database into existing college ranking systems so that a weighted rating system of campus sexual assault policies is available for prospective students and their families.
- We will also do outreach to major media so that the “Sexual Assault Response Policy” scores for every school in the nation are integrated into publications’ annual college issues, applying external public relations pressure on schools.
Learn more about the epidemic of the secrecy surround sexual assaults on college campuses by reading the 9 month investigative report by the Center for Public Integrity.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/campus_assault/