Title : Lessons learned from a study to cultivate learning and safe environments CLASE Reducing college campus sexual assault and misconduct in the context of the U.S
Abstract:
This session will focus on a discussion about the Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE), a 5-year comprehensive and scientific effort to eradicate intimate and interpersonal violence at all 14 University of Texas (UT) System Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs). As a research action project, the study is unprecedented in its scope, duration, and depth of understanding on the issues of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence/domestic violence, and stalking that college students may face. The project’s dataset informed the findings of the acclaimed National Academies Science Engineering and Medicine report, Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences Engineering, and Medicine (2018)
The research team developed a research plan that included:
Benchmarking the prevalence and perceptions of students about their experiences with and concerns about sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence/domestic violence, and stalking through a comprehensive online survey;
The impact of students’ personal experiences with sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence/domestic violence, and stalking in their lives, including understanding the use of alcohol and other drugs, addictions, PTSD, depression, time off from school or work, and other variables;
A four year longitudinal study of 1,200 first year students;
In-depth qualitative interviews with members of the entire IHE ecosystem (i.e. administrators, campus police, student leaders, student program staff, faculty, and others), at five of the IHEs that sought answers to questions not well understood by the survey findings;
On-going engagement of institutional working groups at all 14 IHEs with the aim that the CLASE project was the “means to the beginning.”
These findings inform institution-specific efforts that address victimization and perpetration risks across the UT System, including the impact of victimization, health and well-being, and addiction among college students. The “means to the beginning” objective acknowledges that the CLASE research team must hand over the findings to campus working groups comprised of thought leaders, researchers, and representatives from multiple disciplines around their campuses to implement the research findings into programs to increase student safety. Implementation/evaluation is on-going.
