Dive Brief:
- A climate survey developed to address sexual assault on college campuses has been criticized by survivors of sexual assault and their advocates because of language describing types of assault.
- Inside Higher Ed reports some students at the University of Michigan, Harvard and Penn said the language made them uncomfortable and, in some cases, triggered flashbacks to their assaults while other commentators complained the language conflated assaults that varied in severity.
- The Association of American Universities defended its survey language as being the best way to get accurate and specific responses, and it plans to release aggregate data across all participating universities in the fall, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
When surveyed, university leaders largely agree sexual assault is a problem on college campuses, but most say the problem is less severe than average on their campuses. Data from the federal government estimates up to one in five female college-goers are sexually assaulted before they graduate. Climate surveys are a way to bring administrators face-to-face with the situation on their own campuses. From there, they have to move forward addressing the problem. Many colleges and universities have implemented new initiatives, both preventive and responsive, in recent years. As survivors feel more comfortable reporting, the scope of the problem will only become more clear.