The just prevention theory for policymaking on campus sexual assault

Abstract

Campus sexual assault affects a large proportion of college students in the United States, most of whom are women. There is little research on the federal complaint mechanism from the standpoint of survivors accessing it, or on whether existing justice mechanisms meet survivors' needs. This qualitative study asks how survivors define justice, and how policy might help survivors achieve justice. To answer these questions, qualitative data were collected and analyzed through interviews with survivors and campus administrators, and focus groups with survivor advocates. These data are analyzed within the context of an ecological framework and produce the just prevention theory for policymaking on campus sexual assault. The just prevention theory argues that genuine justice for survivors must be pursued through a framework of prevention. This theory reconceives justice in a fundamental way: while justice may include other response measures, it must include prevention.

Policy whiplash: How California Title IX coordinators navigated local, state, and federal policy changes during the Trump administration

“…The ecological framework specifies the individual, community, institutional, and societal factors that inform a holistic view of campus sexual assault (Ullman, 2020). However, individual and community level considerations of this model dominate the research and prevention literature, with comparatively less attention paid to how institutional or sociopolitical factors like local, state or national policies inform IHE response to sexual assault (Moylan & Javorka, 2020; Ullman, 2020).…”

“…The ecological framework specifies the individual, community, institutional, and societal factors that inform a holistic view of campus sexual assault (Ullman, 2020). However, individual and community level considerations of this model dominate the research and prevention literature, with comparatively less attention paid to how institutional or sociopolitical factors like local, state or national policies inform IHE response to sexual assault (Moylan & Javorka, 2020; Ullman, 2020). This study finds that the California policy context directly shaped how Title IX coordinators in the state navigated the tumultuous Title IX policy changes at the federal level, interpreted and acted upon their job duties, and worked to support survivors.…”

Campus Sexual Violence and Title IX: What is the Role of Restorative Justice Now?

“…In comparison to other crimes on a college campus, sexual violence is pervasive with one in five women reporting sexual violence (Cantor et al, 2020; Fedina et al, 2018; Fisher et al, 2000; RAINN, n.d.; Ullman, 2020). A sexual violence incident on a college campus may dictate a police response, but inappropriate campus behavior is also regulated by campus policy (Clery Act, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), and Campus SaVE Act).…”