Title IX Sexual Violence Prevention Guidance
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights suggests these measures to prevent sexual violence.
In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to colleges and public and private K-12 schools outlining their duties under Title IX, a federal civil rights law that bans sexual discrimination, harassment and violence.
Some of the measures designed to prevent sexual violence that are recommended by the OCR include:
- Publishing a notice of nondiscrimination
- Designating an employee to coordinate Title IX compliance
- Adopting and publishing grievance procedures
- Providing education and training that covers what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence, the school’s policies and disciplinary procedures and the consequences of violating these policies:
- Orientation programs for new students, faculty, staff and employees
- Training for students who serve as advisors in resident halls
- Training for student athletes and coaches
- School assemblies and back-to-school nights
- Developing specific sexual violence materials that include the school’s policies, rules and resources for students, faculty, coaches and administrators. Materials should include where and to whom students should go if they are victims of sexual violence. The materials should also tell students and school employees what to do if they learn of an incident of sexual violence.
Related Articles:
- Sexual Assault Statistics
- Bystanders: Your Best Weapon Against Sexual Assault
- Sexual Assault Prevention Education: Getting the Message Through to Students
- Campus Sexual Assaults: How Community Policing Can Make a Difference
- How the U. of Rhode Island Sobered Up
- Preventing and Responding to Campus Sexual Assaults
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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