Policy best practices for sexual violence and sexual harassment

     Policies are a valuable tool. They stand as a public, official declaration of an institution's stance against sexual violence.
     But there are good policies and bad policies. Some policies do not give due process to both parties. Others do not provide immunity from alcohol violations to complainants.
      Ideally, a good policy can be used as a teaching tool, by defining consent and including examples of some of the most common forms of sexual violence, such as party rape and acquaintance rape, and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault. Clear language and explanations can help nervous students--on both sides of the complaint process--find clarity.
     If written and executed well, it can encourage reporting and be a vehicle for prevention. How does your policy do?

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• American College Health Association: Campus and Sexual Violence  ACHA, the recognized voice of expertise in college health, offers resources including association projects, programs, publications, guidelines, and more. http://www.acha.org/topics/violence.cfm
  Tags: Toolkit  Best Practices  Campus   Coalition  Curricula  Public Health  Research  Institutional Responsibilities 
• Campus Accountability Project  V-Day and SAFER are proud to partner to bring a transformative policy reform initiative to college campuses. With your help, we can make colleges and universities across the United States safer for all students. http://safercampus.org/campus-accountability-project
  Tags: Laws, Policy and Legislation  Best Practices 
• Case Studies and Model Programs in Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention  Over the course of several years, the Higher Education Center has collected information on a variety of AODV prevention programs at institutions of higher education around the U.S. http://higheredcenter.ed.gov/resources/case-studies/browse
  Tags: Environmental Change  Alcohol Facilitation  Prevention  Best Practices  Case Studies 
• MNSCU Legal Webinar Series  One hour legal seminars available to campus administrators, faculty and staff at no charge. Includes "Responding to Sexual Violence" and "Campus Security Act Compliance Check Up." http://ogc.mnscu.edu/events/workshops.html
  Tags: Laws, Policy and Legislation  Response  Webinars 

Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Portal

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For questions about this page, please contact the Injury and Violence Prevention program at:health.injuryprevention@state.mn.us

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