One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. Yet, more than 90 percent of victims do not report their assault. Although the climate that allows this to happen is often mistakenly attributed to the presence of alcohol, sexual promiscuity, and partying, it is actually rape culture—the acceptance of sexual assault and culture of victim blaming—that perpetuates this trend. The White House understands the pervasive nature of rape culture; as Vice President Joe Biden said, “we have to change the culture. And we’re not going to change that culture until not a single woman who is abused ever asks herself: ‘What did I do?’”
After years of working to build infrastructure to prevent campus sexual assault and alter campus cultures, the White House announced in July a further measure: President Obama, Vice President Biden, their wives, and cabinets will no longer visit schools that fail to make adequate progress toward eliminating sexual assault. The Obama administration placed much emphasis on combating campus sexual assault, and this latest policy is another component of that progressive legacy. But whether this legacy continues depends largely on who is elected the next commander-in-chief.
A History of Support
Vice President Biden has long advocated for victims of sexual assault. As a senator from Delaware, he introduced the Violence Against Women Act, which contained legislation to improve responses to sexual assault and abuse of women. The law, passed in 1994, has proven to be effective legislation and achieved reauthorization three times, most recently under President Obama. During VAWA’s tenure, rates of domestic violence have decreased by 50 percent, but Biden is not done. As vice-president, he has continued his this work, making ending campus sexual assault a priority for the Obama Administration.
In 2009, President Obama created the White House Council on Women and Girls, and appointed Biden the first White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. Going further, the White House collaborated with the Office of Civil Rights to release a “Dear Colleague” letter reminding universities of their Title IX obligations to prevent gender discrimination, including sexual violence. Then, in January 2014, Obama and Biden launched the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, which provides guidance for universities to combat campus sexual assault. In September 2014, Obama launched It’s On Us, a campaign to inspire students to take responsibility for ending campus sexual assault.
The White House’s new policy of abstaining from visiting schools that do not take campus sexual assault seriously is more than a ceremonial maneuver. Obama and Biden are often sought as commencement speakers by high-profile schools and will command high speaking fees after leaving office. By turning their back on this publicity, and the monetary compensation attached to it, Obama and Biden are sending a powerful message about their determination to end campus sexual assault. The Obama Administration’s policies are certainly not enough to end campus sexual assault, but they represent the most concerted fight by any administration.
Progress on the Horizon
Many federal agencies have followed in the footsteps of the president and vice president. In July 2015, the Department of Education began requiring institutions to collect and report data on sexual assault, describe their protections for victims and processes for disciplinary actions, all while raising awareness of sexual assault on campus. The Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Justice have launched increasing numbers of investigations into campuses for their handling of sexual assaults, with 159 investigations underway in 2015, triple the 2014 figure.
In response to investigations by the OCR, many universities are beginning to take notice of campus sexual assault. One such school under investigation, Harvard University, substantially altered its policies. According to Harvard President Drew Faust, “This new, progressive policy—alongside the new, centralized procedures for investigating reports—will significantly enhance Harvard’s ability to address these incidents [of sexual assault] when they occur”. That said, it is unclear how effective these investigations will be in changing campus cultures. Jessica Fournier, co-organizer of Our Harvard Can Do Better, a student activist organization working against sexual violence, told the HPR, “[Federal guidance] has been helpful … in articulating the kinds of policies that universities should have, but more in this area would be very useful. Right now, there is a lot of wiggle room for universities to pick and choose policies.”
The Obama Administration has certainly made progress, but according to Fournier, “it needs to be reemphasized to universities that they have a responsibility to provide survivors with the accommodations they are required to provide under federal law that survivors don’t get [at Harvard] and on many other campuses”. Furthermore, it is possible that campuses are underreporting assaults—91 percent of colleges report zero assaults. This blatantly contradicts established findings that one in five female college students are victimized, pointing to the conclusion that either colleges are not complying with DOE monitoring and disclosure requirements or that campus cultures continue to discourage victims from reporting assaults. And as Obama’s second term ends, his administration’s legacy of fighting campus sexual assault is at stake in the 2016 election. With so much more to be done, the next president stands at an inflection point— having the opportunity to expand initiatives, or to roll back progress and allow rape culture to continue unchecked.
A Precarious Position
The “Issues” section of the Clinton campaign website reveals a three-part plan to “end campus sexual assault” by supporting survivors, securing fair reporting procedures, and increasing efforts to prevent sexual assault. Furthermore, Clinton has advocated for victims, stating in 2015, “I want to send a message to every survivor of sexual assault: Don’t let anyone silence your voice. You have the right to be heard.” These policy positions build on Obama’s existing programs, making it likely that Clinton would advance efforts to end campus sexual assault.
In contrast, Trump’s policy on campus sexual assault is notable not for its substance but its lack thereof. The “Positions” section of the Trump campaign website makes no mention of sexual assault. Though Trump has not published an official stance, his overall track record of fighting rape culture is poor. In 2013, Trump blamed sexual assault in the military on the mixing of male and female troops, perpetuating the fallacy that men simply cannot stop themselves from assaulting women. As recently as August 2016, Trump proposed that if his daughter Ivanka were to be sexually harassed at work, he “would like to think she would find another career or find another company.” This response preserves yet another aspect of rape culture, the notion that women are responsible for preventing themselves from being sexually assaulted.
Upon examination, it appears that a Clinton presidency would continue Obama and Biden’s legacy of dismantling rape culture, whereas a Trump presidency would normalize that culture and fail to protect university students facing sexual assault. During Obama’s tenure, the federal government has started to fight campus sexual assault, and rape culture in general. As Americans go to the polls to pick the next president, that legacy must be kept in mind. Their ballots may very well decide whether we are able to make lasting change to combat campus sexual assault.
