President Barack Obama announced plans on Wednesday for a task force to protect college students from sexual assault.
The White House task force is designed to raise awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses. A White House memorandum stated that the program will provide instruction to universities on prevention and response techniques. Within 90 days, the task force is expected to evaluate the efforts by college campuses to prevent sexual assault.
According to the memorandum, “studies show that about one in five women is a survivor of attempted or completed sexual violence while in college.”
Chris Loschiavo, UF associate dean of students and Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution director, said from 2012 to 2013 UF had eight reported sexual assault cases.
“Most years we only had one or two reported to us,” he said. “More awareness is what is going to increase reporting.”
UF has several programs to educate students about sexual assault, help sexual assault victims and promote bystander intervention.
STRIVE at GatorWell is a group of peer educators that reaches out to students about sexual assault prevention, including a collaboration with University Police to promote the importance of consent.
Debra Weiss, a UPD victim advocate, said that sexual assault is a “silent crime” that often goes unreported.
“We want to help people get access to resources,” she said. “We will continue to do everything we can to let people know we are here and that they’re not alone.”
Last Fall, UF created an interpersonal violence prevention committee to address issues ranging from sexual assault to bullying and stalking.
Jeanna Mastrodicasa, UF assistant vice president for Student Affairs, said the university has many initiatives related to preventing sexual assault because it is a multifaceted issue, and that assistance does not end with reporting the assault.
“This is a problem we take very seriously,” she said. “We want to make sure we are doing what’s best for our students at all times.”
For some students, like Hannah Bailey, the White House initiative may not be enough to make a difference.
“I’m not sure they’re going to be able to really do anything other than bring awareness,” said Bailey, an 18-year-old UF exploratory freshman.
Mastrodicasa said in order for the White House task force to be effective, an overall university representative must be established.
“We want to make sure that as national regulations are put in place, university input is being heard as well,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/24/2014 under the headline "Obama forms sexual assault task force"]
