Our Campus Climate Survey and Action Plan on Sexual Violence

September 2, 2015

Members of the Rutgers–New Brunswick Community:

As many of you know, a year ago the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault asked the Center on Violence Against Women and Children at Rutgers’ School of Social Work to conduct and evaluate a pilot survey assessing the climate of college and university campuses in regard to sexual violence. Our Center was invited because of its status as a “leading research institute on violence against women,” in the words of the White House Task Force.

The pilot survey was created by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and conducted at Rutgers University–New Brunswick under the title iSPEAK during the 2014-15 academic year. Nearly 11,000 students provided responses to the survey, which asked about their experiences, attitudes, and beliefs about sexual violence. 

This week, the Center delivered to the White House Task Force its report outlining lessons learned in conducting the Rutgers campus climate assessment. Sarah McMahon, the Center’s associate director, was lead researcher, and I applaud her efforts on this critical project. 

The iSPEAK assessment employs a very broad definition of sexual violence based on materials developed by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. This definition ranges from remarks about physical appearance to rape and other forms of sexual assault.

One of the most significant and troubling findings of the iSPEAK survey at Rutgers is that nearly one in four undergraduate women (24 percent) reported experiencing sexual violence before ever coming to college. These results point to a larger national and societal problem, and are, as Dr. McMahon has said, “a clear signal that education, prevention, and victim support programs need to begin long before students enter college.”

Another key finding of the iSPEAK survey shows that among undergraduate women at Rutgers, one in five (20 percent) reported at least one instance of unwanted sexual contact since starting college. This is similar to findings at other colleges and universities across the country.

These percentages are sobering for everyone in the Rutgers community and demand our increasing vigilance in enhancing and expanding violence prevention programs across New Brunswick. We have quality resources on campus to support survivors of sexual violence. The report showed that the great majority of students who used these campus services were likely to say they were helpful, although a low percentage of students who experienced sexual violence reported that they used these services. Equally important to note, the assessment showed that 25 percent of all Rutgers undergraduates have had another Rutgers student tell them they had experienced sexual violence; this means there are clear opportunities for students to connect their peers with campus resources—if they know about them.

From the start of the process, Rutgers has been committed to creating an action plan based on the results of the iSPEAK survey in order to improve the prevention of and response to campus sexual violence. Toward that end, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Felicia McGinty has launched a campaign to raise awareness among students about the dangers of sexual violence as soon as they arrive on campus. Drawing upon the findings of the climate survey, the campaign includes expansion of the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance; a public service announcement calling on the campus community to end sexual violence; a web-based education program for students on issues such as consent, healthy relationships, reporting options, and bystander intervention; a yearlong series of events and programs to engage the community and raise awareness about sexual violence; and a new website with information about all related Rutgers resources: http://endsexualviolence.rutgers.edu.

We have posted the report to the White House Task Force, the findings of the iSPEAK survey, and information related to our action plan on the Rutgers website. I encourage you to visit http://pilot-campus-survey.rutgers.edu and read these important documents, which will inform climate assessments at colleges and universities across the country, and which—most important—will help us strengthen Rutgers policies, programs, and culture in preventing and addressing sexual violence.

Rutgers takes pride in the national leadership in research and advocacy demonstrated by our Center on Violence Against Women and Children. We are committed to using the Center’s iSPEAK report to make Rutgers University–New Brunswick a model for effectively addressing this most serious problem for U.S. higher education and, in a larger sense, for American society.

Sincerely,

Richard L. Edwards, Ph.D.
Chancellor