Violence Against Women: A Curriculum for Empowerment Facilitator’s Manual
Background:
Sexual assault and intimate partner violence are prevalent in the student population of higher education campuses. Almost one in four undergraduate women experienced sexual assault or misconduct at 33 of the nation’s major universities.5-6% of men will experience sexual assault during college.4 90% of campus sexual assaults are committed by perpetrators that the survivor knows. Compounding these facts is the low reporting rate of assaults to law enforcement.
Some colleges and universities have instituted conduct policies prohibiting harassment and sexual misconduct within the student body and for staff. With low reporting rates and a protection order system that did not yet address the needs of college students, Title IX was used to institute regulations for education institutions investigating and regulating student sexual misconduct and intimate partner violence. Protection orders issued by civil and criminal courts have long been used to prohibit contact between victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and their abusers. These types of orders require a disclosure of abuse in the form of a petition and a court hearing. Both types of orders, as well as other types pertaining to intimate partner and dating violence, are available to students who meet the issuing jurisdiction’s qualifications. From the above-mentioned statistics, the majority of students are not reporting abuse to law enforcement or seeking orders through the civil court system.
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