for parents

As a parent, you have tremendous influence over the college administrators who determine the sexual assault policy at your child's school. No one wants to think about their child getting hurt or hurting someone else, but not thinking about it won't make the possibility go away. There are things you can do to help protect your child, and his or her peers. One of the most important is to talk to your child about what healthy relationships look like, but here are some other tips:

Questions To Ask During Campus Tours

Where may I find statistics on sexual assault at your school for the past few years? (Are the statistics online? How easily can they be accessed? Schools are legally required to make annual reports. )

What is the campus sexual assault policy and may I have a copy of it? (Schools are legally required to have a policy and to distribute it to students.)

What resources at your school are dedicated to sexual assault? (Look for a combination of crisis center, counseling, and education and awareness programs. Blue lights and escort services alone, while important, are not enough.)

Does your school offer a sexual assault prevention program? (Look for programs aimed at preventing people from becoming perpetrators, not just rape whistles. The school should also provide more than a one-time program during orientation week.)

Are campus police and school personnel trained to handle sexual assault? (Everyone that a student might approach, such as a resident advisor or a faculty member, should be trained. Even better, everyone on campus should be trained in sexual assault prevention.)

What processes or procedures would my child go through if s/he were raped or sexually assaulted? ( Will s/he have immediate access to emergency contraception and HIV prophylaxis? Is there a simple, easy to initiate system for making a report? Can s/he report anonymously?)

What are the disciplinary procedures for cases of sexual assault? (Look for clear, specific disciplinary procedures that are easy for students to understand and widely publicized. Better policies will provide immunity to complainants from disciplinary action for lesser offenses such as underage drinking.)
 

Ten Things Parents Can Do To Fight Sexual Assault on Campus

1. Talk to your child about what the school is really doing to deal with sexual assault. Sometimes what the school will tell you isn't what your child is really experiencing.
2. During your campus tours, be sure to ask what each school is doing to deal with sexual assault. If enough parents ask, schools will start to come up with answers.
3. Research the sexual assault prevention and response procedures at your child's school. If you don't feel that the school is doing enough about sexual assault on campus, write a letter to the president or chancellor.
4. Organize a group of parents to improve the sexual assault policy at your child's school. Coordinate petition drives, media events, and letter-writing campaigns to improve the policy.
5. Donate to help SAFER push for better policies nationwide.
6. Support student anti-violence activists at your child's school. Donate money to help them pay for supplies. Offer to speak at their events. Ask them what else you can do to help.
7. Volunteer for your local rape crisis center or sexual assault prevention program, and offer to help with their outreach to college campuses.
8. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to bring attention to the problem of sexual assault on campus.
9. Help organizations working to create positive legislation regarding sexual assault on campus, such as Legal Momentum.
10. If your child is the victim of sexual assault on campus, support him or her no matter how s/he chooses to deal with the situation.

Presentation for Prospective College Students and Parents

A presentation and discussion of how to determine if a college is taking sexual assault seriously for high school students deciding where to apply for college, and their parents. How do you find campus crime statistics? What do they mean? What does a better sexual assault policy look like? What can parents and students do to improve a school's prevention and response activities?

SAFER can bring this presentation to New York-area schools and parent groups. Our $200 fee for this 1.5-2 hour presentation supports SAFER's programs. To arrange to bring us to your school, contact Margaret Mikkelsen at 347-293-0953 or use our contact form.