Examining the White House Task Force’s Effect on College Sexual Assaults

Faculty Sponsor

Jennifer Hora

College

Arts and Sciences

Discipline(s)

Political Science

ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0003-4847-0012

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-23-2016

Abstract

Task Forces are established to work on a single defined task or activity. Government task forces are no exception. One in five women will be sexually assaulted during her college career and men have a one in sixteen chance of being assaulted during their collegiate time. In effort to build on previous movements to eliminate sexual violence, President Obama, Vice President Biden and the Council on Women and Girls established the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault in January 2014 by Presidential memorandum. The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault prepared the Not Alone report in April 2014 which provided a first set of action steps and recommendations. Under federal law Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, institutions are required to abide by the law in order to receive federal funding. Despite this, minimal research has been done on the effects of the White House’s creation of the Task Force in relation to higher-education policy. This study intends to explore to what extent does the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault effect policy change at the institutional level. It surveys Title IX coordinators and affiliate administrators at Valparaiso University and their twenty-six corresponding peer schools in order to gain insight on the influence of the White House Task Force through the Not Alone report, gather information on any policy changes that have occurred, and to what extent schools have amended policies in regards to sexual assault.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Katie Wilson is a senior political science major. Her interest in Title IX began in Fall 2014, her sophomore year, when she presented a policy analysis on college sexual assault. After a successful response to her project, she wanted to continue research since Title IX and sexual violence effects so many individuals. Upon graduating in 2016 after three years of undergraduate studies, Katie hopes to pursue a Masters of Public Policy and Masters in Business Administration.

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