“The Fear is Palpable”: Service Providers’ Perceptions of Mandatory Reporting Policies for Sexual Assault in Higher Education

Abstract

In many universities/colleges, employees are required to report students' sexual assault disclosures to university officials, even if the student does not want to make a report. These "mandatory reporting" policies have been shaped by federal mandates and guidelines, including Title IX. There is a notable lack of research on the implementation and effectiveness of these policies. The current study examined formal service providers' beliefs about university mandatory reporting policies and perceptions of three specific policy approaches (universal mandatory reporting, selective mandatory reporting, and student-directed mandatory reporting). Focus groups were conducted with 12 service providers and these qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants had strong reservations about mandatory reporting policies, particularly universal approaches that designate all employees as reporters. Although they believed mandatory reporting may have been implemented with good intentions, they discussed how such policies may harm both survivors and employees. Lack of transparency and training in the implementation of mandatory reporting policies can create a climate of fear on campus, where neither survivors nor employees feel comfortable discussing sexual assault. Findings suggest the need for more empirically informed approaches to mandatory reporting of sexual assault in higher education and more comprehensive training for employees and students. What happens when a college student tells a university employee that they have experienced sexual assault? In many institutions, that employee would be

“This Isn't Just a Police Issue”: Tensions between Criminal Justice and University Responses to Sexual Assault among College Students

“…However, with these reforms have come universities’ increased concerns about legal compliance, at times ignoring the wishes of survivors in order to ensure their own compliance with federal mandates (Brubaker, 2018; Holland, Cortina, & Freyd, 2018; Moylan, 2017). Community psychologists can seek to promote survivor well‐being by advocating for changes to the existing Title IX system to prioritize the needs of survivors, such as working to change employee mandatory reporting policies that take control away from survivors and create a “chilling effect” on survivors reaching out for help (Holland, Cipriano, & Huit, 2019; Holland et al, 2018). Our findings also suggest a need for future research focused particularly on the impacts of mandatory reporting policies for marginalized or vulnerable students, including students of color, international students, and LGBTQ students, for whom such reporting policies may be particularly harmful.…”

Walking the Tightrope: Navigating Faculty Status as a Mandatory Reporter in the #MeToo Era

“…However, these findings must be interpreted with caution, as individuals voicing support for mandatory reporting may not have a detailed understanding of the policies (Amin, 2019;Holland & Cortina, 2017). Further, persons who know a victim or who are survivors may be less supportive of mandatory reporting (Amin, 2019;Holland et al, 2019;Holland et al, 2020a). Student survivors may be less likely or feel unsure about talking to faculty about their own experiences even if they are supportive of mandatory reporting as a general policy .…”

“…Since data collection for these aforementioned studies, the #MeToo movement has raised conversations regarding sexual victimization and survivor choice, and some recent research suggests that mandatory reporting policies may actually decrease the likelihood of reporting to Title IX coordinators (Holland et al, 2020a;Holland et al, 2020b). In addition, the DoE proposed (2017) and finalized (2020) major changes to the formal Title IX investigation and adjudication process, with the New Final Rule for Title IX (2020) now requiring a live hearing and live cross examination of complainants and respondents.…”

“…under Title IX and actively informing them about their duty regarding compelled disclosures. The widespread designation of faculty members as mandatory reporters was met with backlash from many faculty -particularly those who had long been receiving student disclosures, often with little to no input or support from campus officials (see Flaherty, 2015;Holland et al, 2020a). Of particular concern was that mandatory reporting (1) requires faculty to violate their student's confidentiality and…”

Reporting is not supporting: Why mandatory supporting, not mandatory reporting, must guide university sexual misconduct policies

“…There is little evidence to support either assumption (1). In fact, emerging evidence suggests that broad mandatory reporting policies that compel disclosures can discourage survivors from seeking help and disclosing to employees they trust (8)(9)(10)(11). Even when reports are made, university conduct processes are only sought out in one of four of these cases, suggesting that compelled disclosures rarely lead to investigations, hearings, or sanctions (12).…”