{"id":719990,"date":"2024-01-04T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=719990"},"modified":"2024-01-04T15:51:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T20:51:44","slug":"new-research-looks-for-ways-to-reduce-sexual-harassment-and-assault-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/new-research-looks-for-ways-to-reduce-sexual-harassment-and-assault-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research Looks for Ways to Reduce Sexual Harassment and Assault in Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The start of the new year presents an extraordinary opportunity for school and district Title IX staff. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University are seeking school administrators and Title IX coordinators to participate this month \u2014 before Jan. 17 \u2014 in focus groups<\/a> for a study <\/strong>on improving prevention and responses to peer-to-peer sexual harassment and assault in public K-12 schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers \u2014 “Team TALKS\u201d \u2014 are interested in hearing from participants who are passionate about creating schools free of sexual misconduct and would like to share their experiences and insights. They will take part in one 75-minute virtual panel<\/a> to share their insights, hear from peers and colleagues, and learn about researchers\u2019 findings and recommendations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team TALKS wrote to Stop Sexual Assault in Schools \u2014 which is collaborating on the research \u2014 that \u201ca deeply concerning issue persists and negatively affects the lives of countless young people: peer-to-peer sexual harassment and assault. School administrators and Title IX coordinators are critical in creating a sustainable change that reduces sexual harassment and assault among students in school.\u201d They aim to understand school administrators\u2019 needs in \u201cpreventing, investigating and processing incidences of sexual misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Obstacles to making sustainable change stem from \u201cthe lack of resources to support Title IX compliance, including for Title IX coordinators, who are responsible for ensuring schools are complying with Title IX and responding appropriately to sex discrimination, including sexual harassment,\u201d Shiwali Patel, director of justice for student survivors and senior counsel at the National Women\u2019s Law Center, noted in correspondence with Stop Sexual Assault in Schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond Title IX <\/a>compliance, administrators must also learn to address the many underlying factors<\/a> that contribute to persistent sexual harassment in schools: inconsistent training, underreporting, poor recordkeeping of incidents and ongoing hostile climates for LGBTQ and other vulnerable students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n