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Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The recognized color for sexual assault awareness is teal.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month: “I Ask” campaign is an annually occurring campaign that aims to raise public awareness of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. It also seeks to educate people on how to prevent sexual assault, harassment, and abuse from happening (NSVRC, 2019).

References

NSVRC. (2019). Sexual Assault Awareness Month - I Ask. Retrieved from https://www.nsvrc.org/saam.

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Social Movements: Helpful or Harmful?

Social movements sometimes fall short, and when they fall short, they can do more harm than good. 

For example, The “It’s On Us” Campaign is a social movement created to increase awareness of sexual assault on college campuses and fight against it for both men and women. The campaign was created by the Obama-Biden White House in September of 2014.

Despite the idea behind the creation of the campaign, and despite the good that the campaign can do, the “It’s On Us” campaign has the potential to look like it’s creating positive change without actually creating it. 

For example, an article in The Daily Illini detailed one student’s experience with the campaign that opened her eyes to the harm the campaign could be causing. During a University of Illinois Student Government meeting, two students proposed an initiative asking for funding to pay for swag that would be given out to students who signed the campaign’s pledge. One student was adamant that Student Government not fund the campaign and brought up a personal experience she had where she saw her rapist on campus wearing an “It’s On Us” t-shirt (Dunlop, 2017). The only way he could have gotten the shirt was by signing the campaign’s pledge.

Another article, written by Dana Bolger, criticized the campaign for failing to recognize the problem of sexual assault as being systemic and structural (2014). Bolger argues that the campaign is highly appealing because it does not require people to challenge the status quo. She asserts that in order to actually create the kind of change the “It’s On Us” campaign endeavors to create, institutions that “tolerate and perpetuate violence” must be dismantled (2014).

References

Bolger, D. (2014). It's On Us To Go Beyond 'It's On Us'. Retrieved from http://feministing.com/2014/09/22/its-on-us-to-go-beyond-its-on-us/.

Dunlop, G. (2017, April 3). University It's On Us campaign changes focus after discussion with survivors. Retrieved from https://dailyillini.com/news/2017/04/03/university-us-campaign-changes-focus-discussion-survivors/.

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Social movements: #MeToo

The #MeToo movement is an online social movement mainly based on the social media platform Twitter and is a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. The movement took off and made a huge impact largely because of the vast array of people it affected. Men and women of different demographics participated in the movement.

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Political mobilization

Advocating to a college or university for the creation of a sexual and domestic violence crisis hotline run by student volunteers is one example of political mobilization related to title IX.

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Non-Profits Organizations & Social Capital

As previously stated, non-profits rely heavily on volunteers, yet many organizations have high volunteer turnover rates. Perhaps the high turnover rate could be in part due to the lack of established and stable social capital. Connections and relationships can be important motivators in getting volunteers to keep giving their time. 

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Non-Profit Volunteer Turnover Rate

Non-profit organizations are typically hugely reliant on volunteers; in fact, this is one of the key factors that distinguishes the non-profit sector from the private and for-profit sectors (LeRoux & Feeney, 2015, pg. 144). So why do so many non-profit organizations have such high volunteer turnover rates? Well, there are a variety of explanations:

1. the non-profit does not have a strong mission;

2. the non-profit is not making sure their volunteers feel appreciated; and

3. the non-profit is giving volunteers too much work. 

These are just three reasons that could contribute to a non-profit organization’s high turnover rate of volunteers.

In my experience the times where I volunteered for an organization (non-profit or otherwise) and ended up not volunteering for them again, the reason why I chose not volunteer again was either because I did not like the organization’s environment, I did not feel appreciated, or because I did not feel like my values aligned with the organization.

Resources

LeRoux, K., & Feeney, M. K. (2015). Nonprofit organizations and civil society in the United States. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

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Title IX: A Quid Pro Quo Type of Deal

During the Obama Administration, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (O.C.R.) issued a warning to colleges and universities: failure to prevent and resolve sexual violence among students would result in a loss of federal funding. Although this was an informal warning, the O.C.R. followed it up with guidelines for schools to keep their federal funding and posted a “shame list” of schools under investigation for noncompliance with Title IX.

How is this an example of Quid Pro Quo? The government -- specifically the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights -- made a mutually beneficial “deal” with federally-funded higher education institutions: comply with current Title IX policy (government would not have to exhaust their resources in investigating these schools, handling lawsuits from students whose complaints were never addressed or inappropriately addressed, etc.) in exchange for federal funding. In this exchange, compliance with Title IX policy would mean that the government would not exhaust its resources (time, money, manpower) in investigating schools for noncompliance, and they would not have to handle lawsuits from students whose complaints were never addressed or were inappropriately addressed at federally funded institutions.

SOURCES

Gersen, J. S. (2019, February 2). Assessing Betsy DeVos's Proposed Rules on Title IX and Sexual Assault. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/assessing-betsy-devos-proposed-rules-on-title-ix-and-sexual-assault 

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Title IX: The Power of Social Media

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who has not heard of the #MeToo movement. The sexual harassment and sexual assault movement exploded online in 2017, but Tarana Burke, the founder of the movement, was using the language as early as 2006 on social media platforms. 

The #MeToo movement is a great example of community building online. Individuals who wished to share their experiences with sexual harassment and sexual assault stood by each other in solidarity via computer, phone, tablet, etc.

When building a community, a commonality is important. Although it is unfortunate that communities are sometimes brought together on the grounds of tragedy (Black Lives Matter) or violation (#MeToo) to fight for justice, change, equality, etc., there is something to be said for the strength that such communities have. 

Social media gave the #MeToo movement the driving power necessary to hold individuals responsible for the atrocities they committed against their victims. The #MeToo movement was present on various social media platforms in as early as 2006. But there is a reason why the movement didn’t make much headway until 2017, and that reason is because the relevance of social media and access to it increased drastically.

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Futures Without Violence

Futures Without Violence is a nonprofit organization that focuses on health and social justice. Founded by Esta Soler, the organization’s mission is “to heal those among us who are traumatized by violence today -- and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.”

Futures Without Violence focuses on educating and involving children, youth and teens; engaging men, advancing quality healthcare for everyone, workplace safety & equity, preventing human trafficking, influencing policy and advocacy, holding colleges and universities accountable, global violence prevention, and promoting and encouraging leadership and professional development in individuals.

The organization has offices in San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Boston and has been active for more than 30 years. Futures Without Violence was very influential in passing the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. According to their website, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was “the nation’s first comprehensive federal response to the violence that plagues families and communities.”

SOURCES

Futures Without Violence (n.d.) https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org

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Arizona Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence (ACESDV)

 The Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence is a nonprofit organization based in Arizona. Founded in 1980, ACESDV was originally concerned with ending solely domestic violence. In 2013, however, that changed; ACESDV became known as it is today as an Arizona based nonprofit fighting to end both sexual and domestic violence and abuse.

ACESDV’s mission is to “end sexual and domestic violence in Arizona by dismantling oppression and promoting equity among all people.”

ACESDV primarily serves those who provide direct services for victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence. As ACESDV’s website states, “Victims and survivors are the beneficiaries of our work.”

The organization’s purpose is to spread awareness concerning issues of sexual and domestic violence, aid and improve the services for and safety of sexual and domestic violence victims and survivors, and to end the sexual and domestic violence present in Arizona communities.

There are numerous ways to get involved with this organization, and it is well worth your time! I myself have attended their meetings and events.

SOURCES

Who We Are (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.acesdv.org/who-we-are/

ACESDV about (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/ACESDV/about/?ref=page_internal

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Title IX: A Centralized-Decentralized Policy

Title IX is a centralized policy. The definition of sexual harassment, what constitutes gender-based discrimination, and the standards of procedure are all determined by policymakers in Washington D.C. Title IX investigators, the bureaucrats and secondary actors who specialize in the policy’s definitions and standards of procedure, are then legally obligated to enforce the policy.

Title IX is also a decentralized policy. After an investigator has completed an investigation, they come to a final verdict of sorts based on the evidence they have acquired. (Note: If an individual is not found to have committed a Title IX violation, this does NOT mean they are “innocent”; Title IX is evidence-based. Unless there is (nearly) undeniable, substantial proof (a voice or video recording, an email, text message, etc.) that an individual violated the policy, the likely outcome of the case will be that there was not enough evidence to say whether or not a violation definitely happened. This is not the same thing as being found innocent.) After the final report concluding the case has been handed over to the appropriate administrator (a college president or another administrator) at the institution where the complaint was made, this administrator will sign off on the “verdict” -- which includes suggested consequences for the accused or  potential possibilities of reform for the institution to ensure future events of the same kind can be avoided. This is where the decentralization comes in to play: should the means of how the “verdict” was reached be especially unclear, the administrator signing off on the case can request more info from the investigator. Students who are unsatisfied with the outcome of a case can also file an appeal, or request to have a different Title IX investigator.

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Many people may argue that Title IX is a Redistributive Policy. This argument might stem from the misconception that Title IX is a federal law that is supposed to protect women. It’s not too hard to see why some people might think Title IX is a gendered policy since there has been much buzz in recent years surrounding the #MeToo movement and the Women’s March (to name a few things). But the fact of the matter is that Title IX does not name a specific gender. Title IX may be a Redistributive Policy, but the groups are not men versus women. It is vital that we understand that Title IX is not a battle between the genders.

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Title IX policy under the Obama administration had its flaws, the policy, despite the changes made to it, still has its flaws. The difference is the flaws have shifted from one end of the continuum to the opposite one.