The Association of American Universities found that of 27 universities, an average of 23 percent of female undergraduates reported experiencing non-consensual sexual contact. This spring’s Sexual Assault and Misconduct Climate Survey, the results of which were released early this summer, found that almost one in three female undergraduates at Georgetown reported experiencing non-consensual sexual contact. This is unacceptable.
Fortunately, our administration seems to be taking swift action to address this issue, including the creation of a Sexual Assault and Misconduct Task Force beginning this semester. Some proposed changes to policy include a resource awareness campaign and an increase in mandatory online training for students. The survey will also be reissued every two years to ensure that the data stays up to date and that the administration can track the impacts of its new policies. It remains to be seen whether this Task Force will be effective in implementing these measures, but it is incredibly important that it does so. The posters on the results of the Climate Survey that the school has put up around campus ahead of New Student Orientation are a good first step. Further steps are needed, and it will be critical for students to pay close attention to the work of this Task Force and ensure that those steps toward ending sexual violence are taken.
