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Violence Against Women on the Internet

The following are links to different universities' sexual assault and harassment policies.

"The Antioch College Sexual Offense Prevention Policy." Antioch.Edu. Retrieved 5 Jan. 2002

"Campus Security Report." Wellesley.Edu. 27 Feb. 2001. Wellesley College Police Department. Retrieved 10 Jan. 2002

"Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act." SecurityOnCampus.Org. 2001. Campus Safety, Inc. Retrieved 22 Jan. 2002

"Complying With the Jeanne Clery Act." SecurityOnCampus.Org. 2001. Campus Safety, Inc. Retrieved 22 Jan. 2002

"Face of America." RAINN.Org. Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Retrieved 13 Jan. 2002 .

"Playing it Safe." HUPD.Harvard.Edu. 2001 - 2002. Harvard University. Retrieved 6 Jan. 2002.

"Procedures for Responding to Sexual Assault Cases on Campus." Caltech.Edu. California Technical University. Retrieved 6 Jan. 2002

"Rape and Sexual Assault." UCLA.Edu. Univ. of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved 6 Jan. 2002 .

"Campus Sexual Assault." Princeton.Edu. Sexual Harassment/Assault, Advising, Resources & Education. Retrieved 16 Jan. 2002.

"Campus Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights." Princeton.Edu. Retrieved 16 Jan. 2002. .

To spark some creative thinking about alternative responses to campus violence, take a look at the following solutions proposed by several legal scholars. Instead of advocating a traditional punishment of suspension or expulsion for the perpetrator, Rajib Chanda recommends instituting a mediation program in which the perpetrator and the victim can be guided through a dialogue of reconciliation and resolution. The core reasoning of Chanda's argument is excerpted below from the Harvard Negotiaton Law Review.

In Deborah Reed's "Where's The Penalty Flag? A Call for the NCAA To Promulgate An Eligibility Rule Revoking A Male Student-Athlete's Eligibility To Participate In Intercollegiate Athletics For Committing Violent Acts Against Women," Reed confronts the special problem of student-athlete perpetrators, who overwhelmingly go unpunished by universities. She suggests that the NCAA institute an eligibility rule that disqualifies pereptrators of sexual assaults from participating in athletic competition, a rule similar to the NCAA's drug policy. For further explanation of the relationship between sexual assault procedures and collegiate athletics, and for a description of a potential NCAA eligibility rule, see excerpts below.

In her article, "Sex, Rape, and Shame," Katherine K. Baker suggests that college campuses use public humiliation of perpetrators as a means of disciplining them and changing cultural perceptions of and attitudes toward sexual assault (see excerpts below).

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you find any of these suggestions to be feasible options for universities? What effect do you think each of these potential policies would have in fairly and justly punishing perpetrators? Or in protecting victims' privacy and in satisfying her or his needs? Or in working to eradicate sexual violence on campus?

2. What do you think are the most important features of a campus sexual assault policy? We are currently working to improve the sexual assault policies and procedures at Harvard.

Click here to read article excerpts

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