The Every Voice Coalition’s Policy Memo

Sexual violence impacts millions of Americans each year and has been declared a “silent violent epidemic” by the American Medical Association. With an estimated 1 in 10  students experiencing sexual violence during their time in college, sexual violence directly affected about 2 million college students in 2022 making it the most prevalent crime on campus with populations of intersecting marginalized identities most impacted. The trauma of sexual violence and the subsequent lack of support and resources for student survivors often manifest as devastating long-term impacts including educational and economic outcomes, long-term career trajectory, and emotional and physical health. 

We know the main roots of sexual violence on campuses: flawed systems and lack of institutional accountability. Firstly, prevention efforts and awareness programming are lacking both due to their infrequency and because they are often built to check compliance boxes. Further, following an experience of sexual violence, student survivors are currently offered only one option by their school: report the incident to either a school-based (Title IX) civil process or law enforcement-based punitive process. However, national statistics estimate that 90-95% of campus survivors choose not to report, many fearing retaliation, victim-blame and/or not feeling as though the available options will bring them the justice they seek. Digging deeper into these numbers, we see that privileged students are far more likely to report than marginalized students and recent studies have found that 1 in 4 student survivors who do report experience significant disruption in education. Reporting systems are not deemed appealing or supportive by student survivors and when one does decide to report, they often face further negative impacts personally, educationally, etc. 

Additionally, student survivors are often only made aware of and offered post-incident supportive measures such as counseling, medical services, and academic support when they engage in a reporting process. Thus, the vast majority of student survivors receive no post-incident support which is another failure of school’s lacking awareness programming: student survivors are not aware of their options for support unless they engage in a process that may be further traumatizing. It is clear to see that the system is extremely flawed, and student survivors– especially those who are already marginalized– are often left without any or adequate support following a traumatic incident, which often leads to life-long impacts. 

Furthermore, schools only publicly report reported incidents of sexual violence which means low survivor-reporting leads to low institutional reporting. Thus, given the low rates of survivor- reporting, it’s unsurprising that in 2016, 89% of colleges reported 0 instances of rape on campus. 

Despite these broken systems and growing national awareness about the severity of this issue, no widespread action has been taken to address it. In fact, in a 2019 national campus climate survey, rates of campus sexual violence increased by 3% for undergraduate women and 1.4% for undergraduate men since 2015. Wide sweeping action must be taken in order to combat this epidemic. What follows is a quick dive into what has been done on both the Federal and State levels. 

An Overview of Federal Laws related to Campus Sexual Violence

Title IX (pronounced “Title Nine”)

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S. Code §1681a) states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” This statute prohibits any sex discrimination in educational institutions and has been interpreted to also cover sexual harassment and sexual violence by the Supreme Court in Alexander v. Yale 631 F.2d 178 (1980).

Under Title IX, each school must have a Title IX coordinator who is responsible for ensuring a school is compliant with the law and coordinating any investigatory processes. Through Title IX, survivors have the option to proceed with a case through a school’s grievance process and/or go through law enforcement and/or are subjected to an institution directed investigation. However, because the statute was not built explicitly for addressing sexual violence, many of the procedures and requirements are inadequate or unclear. This leaves many survivors without options for reporting they feel confident in.

In 2011, President Obama’s Department of Education sent a letter to every institution of higher education outlining and clarifying a school’s obligation to address sexual violence under Title IX. Known as the “Dear Colleague Letter”, it explicitly outlined a school’s duty to have prompt investigations of a recommended 60 days, publish the steps in a school’s grievance procedure to ensure survivors were aware of the process, and proactively address violence through training for students and staff. These guidelines re-emphasized that any school found not in compliance would be at risk of losing federal funding at a rate of up to 1% of the institution’s annual operating budget. 

In 2020, President Trump’s Department of Education released a new rule narrowing the definition for what incidents can be investigated, revoking the requirement for a prompt 60-day investigation, and allowing cross-examination of each party in a live hearing. The rule has been widely criticized for making the reporting processes more complicated and traumatizing for survivors, leading to projected decreases in the number of survivors who choose to file a report.  

Under the Biden administration, Title IX reform was said to be a primary focus, and holding true to his word, put forth an Executive Order on March 8,  2021 for the Secretary of Education to review the final rule. However, three years into the Biden Administration, we have not yet seen a new rule. Many anti-campus sexual violence organizations, including Every Voice, are working together to create survivor-centered, trauma-informed guidelines. 

Though Title IX is an important tool to address sexual violence, with fewer than 10% of survivors choosing to go through formal investigatory processes, we must ensure there are other avenues for resources outside of Title IX that 100% of survivors feel comfortable accessing. Even when there are new guidelines, state and federal laws that complement Title IX by providing additional resources and protections will ensure less fluctuation so that survivor’s rights and options are always clear.  

The Clery Act (trigger warning: rape and murder) 

In 1986, a college student named Jeanne Clery was raped and murdered in her dorm room by a fellow student. To ensure more transparency around campus crime and safety policies, Jeanne’s parents worked to pass the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) which was enacted in 1990. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities to gather data for on-campus crime and publish it on the institution’s website, as well as send out an Annual Security Report to the school community. 

In 1992, the Clery Act was expanded to include the Federal Campus Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights to ensure that all survivors have basic rights such as being informed of the outcome of a disciplinary proceeding and the right to be notified of counseling services and options for changing academic and living situations. In 2013, the Clery Act was expanded again to include the Campus SaVE Act which broadened the data collected under Clery to include more types of sexual violence including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

While a necessary measure, the Clery Act only collects data on reported incidents. As we know, the vast majority of survivors choose not to make a report, Clery falls short of actually collecting accurate data (leaving us with the statistic that 89% of all colleges and universities across the country reported zero cases of rape on campus in 2016). The gap in data is stark and shines a light on the ineffective mechanisms currently available for collecting accurate data on what is really happening on campuses. 

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA; Title IV of P.L. 103-322) was first authorized in 1994 to address violent crime and, specifically, violence against women. Introduced by then Senator Joe Biden, VAWA was intended to address and prevent violence, create programs and resources to meet the  needs of survivors, and raise awareness of violence that predominantly impacts women. Like many laws, to ensure continued funding, VAWA needs to be continually reauthorized (i.e. re- passed through the federal government). Reauthorization has occurred on four occasions since the first passage in 1994: in 2000, in 2005, in 2013, with the most recent reauthorization of VAWA occurring in March of 2022 under the Biden Administration. Each reauthorization includes different, new, or similar components to (1) prevent sexual and intimate partner violence, (2) increase investigations and prosecutions of sexual and intimate partner violence, and (3) provide increased support and resources for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence.

The most recent reauthorization, passed through the budget in March of 2022, has taken on new initiatives and expanded beyond previous reauthorizations to increase support, protections, and resources for survivors from marginalized communities— including LGBTQ+ survivors and Indigenous survivors. VAWA has also created funding for survivor-centered restorative practices and increased support for culturally specific resources including in rural communities. In line with Every Voice policy priorities,  VAWA of 2022 passed a biennial campus climate survey mandate with funding until 2027. This campus climate survey will be created by the US Department of Education and provided to each Insitution of Higher Education in the country to survey all students about their experience with, understanding about, and the impact of campus sexual violence. We are currently waiting for further information from ED in regards to the survey administration.

VAWA has historically taken a predominately carceral and punitive approach to sexual and intimate partner violence including increased sentencing for perpetrators and funding specifically for investigation and prosecution of violent crimes. This most recent reauthorization took strides to include options outside of the traditional carceral frameworks and provides increased resources, preventative measures, and restorative alternatives. You can learn more about the 2022 reauthorization of VAWA through this webinar recording linked here.

Where EVC Comes In: State Action to Address Campus Sexual Violence

It is clear that there must be more legislative action taken to address campus sexual violence. Stopping campus sexual violence isn’t just about school-level policy change; it’s about structural change through legislative reform. 

The Every Voice Coalition brings together students, community organizations, and universities to combat campus sexual violence by passing state-level student and survivor-written legislation. Students and survivors are experts in knowing what is happening on their campus and what barriers they face and we believe that our institutions and our laws must reflect the real experiences of students on our campuses.  Their voices must be not only at the table, but at the forefront of conversations shaping the policy that directly affects them the most. In Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s words, “the people closest to the pain need to be the people closest to the power.”

To us, that means that the solutions to the campus sexual violence epidemic are going to come from the bottom-up and be led by students and survivors seeking to keep their own peers safe. Certainly, this work can’t be done by students alone: since the founding of Every Voice, we have worked closely with a broad coalition of legislators, lawyers, non-profit leaders, advocates, university administrators, rape crisis centers, and community members who share our mission of ending campus sexual violence. Many of these leaders have worked for decades in the field of sexual violence prevention, and many bring critical expertise in areas such as policy design, legislative advocacy, and university administration. We respect their knowledge, experience, and wisdom.

Nonetheless, we believe that students and survivors deserve a central seat at the table. Our work began in 2014 with student-written legislation that demonstrated that students can and should have a role to play in shaping the laws that govern their campuses—and yet today, the majority of states across the country still have no legislation in place at all regarding campus sexual violence.

Our legislation addresses this issue from two angles: requiring more robust systems in place to support student survivors outside of the flawed reporting process, and requiring universities to commit to robust prevention. Understanding the roots of the issue, our Every Voice bills directly aim to address these systemic issues by implementing more robust supportive measures and resources for survivors not tied to the reporting process, and by requiring more regular and best-practice prevention methods. After passing our policy priorities in eight states, there are 42 remaining states and millions of students who need our policy solutions. 

Students are the ones being impacted by the campus sexual violence epidemic - and now, rather than waiting for administrators and elected officials to act, it’s time for students to lead the movement for change. By the end of this fellowship, we hope that you will have the tools necessary to read, write, and understand legislation—and, perhaps one day, to write your own civil rights into law.

Policy Overview: The Core 5

While no one policy can stop campus sexual violence, there are proven, best practice measures we can implement now to support survivors and reduce incidence rates of sexual violence. Over the last seven years, The Every Voice Coalition has worked with students and young alumni, survivors and allies, researchers, administrators, legislators, rape crisis centers, non-profit leaders, and advocates across the country to write, file, pass, and implement state-specific Every Voice legislation. We filed our first Every Voice bill in Massachusetts, and then began to expand across the country, filing in new states with students on the ground leading the work. We passed our first bill into law in New Hampshire in 2020, and have subsequently passed our bill in Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, and Nevada in 2021, in Maine in 2022, and in Hawai’i and Oregon in 2023. We’re now working to implement our laws in those eight states, and working on the ground in 7 other states to pass our laws.  

One of the core tenants of our movement is approaching from a framework which does not further cycles of violence or incarceration, but rather focuses on those who experience harm and on a community’s needs. Our focus is on preventing sexual violence it before it happens and centering the needs of a survivor when it does. A non-carceral approach is integral to our policy priorities, as many laws aimed at stopping sexual violence that focus on punishment or incarceration for the perpetrator do little to address the systemic issues that perpetuate a culture of violence and trauma. A non-carceral approach also pulls the focus away from Title IX and investigatory processes to the survivors’ needs for resources, regardless of whether or not they choose to report. Every Voice’s legislation works to address the systemic affects of sexual violence both short term and long term by preventing future violence while also supporting those who have experienced violence. 

Furthermore, as detailed in the Federal Laws section, Every Voice’s legislation does not conflict with any federal laws including, but not limited to, Title IX and the Clery Act, making it an appropriate and practical policy to implement on the state level. Every Voice’s legislation codifies practical, proven measures that grants survivors access to increased rights and resources, clarifies what options are available, and works to prevent future violence.  

To codify this framework of survivor support and preventative measures, the Every Voice bills filed across the country encompass a set of Core Five protections that all students should have access to, which are listed on the following page. 

1. Free medical and legal support services through Memorandums of Understanding between universities and rape crisis centers: All students deserve to receive the care they need to heal and seek justice following their experience of sexual violence. Students are guaranteed a wider range of support resources through partnerships between universities and rape crisis centers which can provide students survivors with access to counseling, medical services, and legal support from trained professionals at a discrete off-campus location.

2. Amnesty policies that prevent survivors and bystanders from being punished for breaking school code of conduct at the time of an incident, such as alcohol or drug use: All students deserve to have their safety be the priority. If a student reports an incident of sexual misconduct that occurred while they were breaking student conduct policy (such as drinking underage or using drugs), the university can not punish that student for violating the student conduct policy. This policy puts student safety first and ensures that survivors are not intimidated or silenced due to fear of retaliation or punishment.

3. Confidential advising services to make clear survivors’ rights and options: All students deserve to be supported through complex reporting and accommodations processes. Confidential advisors aid student survivors in navigating the complex process of accessing necessary resources and understanding their rights. Confidential advocates can also assist in coordinating important academic, housing and financial accommodations to ensure a student is able to safely attain their education.

4. Public data through campus climate surveys on sexual violence to increase transparency, measure progress, and improve policy: All students deserve to know the true rates of sexual violence in their communities. Collecting comprehensive data on sexual assault through anonymous climate surveys ensures transparency and allows colleges and universities to identify disproportionately impacted demographics, tailor solutions to the unique circumstances of their campus communities, and test the effectiveness of prevention programs.

5. Annual, evidence-based prevention and response training for all students and employees: All students deserve to know how to prevent violence and seek support for themselves and their peers. Ensuring that students and employees receive annual evidence-based, trauma- informed training on prevention and response ensures that all members are knowledgable of their rights and options, and empowers all members of the community to take action to stop sexual violence.

There is an opportunity and necessity for legislative action on both the federal and state level. Current federal or state legislation does not adequately support survivors nor prevent violence; the onus now falls on states, which must step up and fill the gaps left by the federal level. With the ability to better address specific constituent needs, states can create more appropriate and impactful legislation to ensure that students have the resources they actually need. 

Furthermore, with the right voices at the forefront, we believe passing survivor-centered legislation can happen at both the state and federal levels. Every Voice leaders have a proven track record of passing legislation, working with diverse stakeholders in the legislative field, and empowering thousands of students across the country to join the movement. Student and survivor voices must be at the forefront of any action, and Every Voice is poised and ready to take action.  

Summary

With a clear need for comprehensive protections and support for survivors at the state and federal level, The Every Voice Coalition, in collaboration with all stakeholders, can take the lead on broad, sweeping change to impact the 2 million college students across the United States. As an organization of survivors and students, we are the constituency that needs to be served. This makes us best suited to advocate for our needs and shape the policy that impacts us. With proof of progress in the passage of our 8 laws, we know our state-specific legislation can and should be codified both by individual states and on the federal level. Change can and should happen now.