US President Barack Obama is to announce a plan on Tuesday on how to help universities reduce incidents of sexual assault, as well as how to handle complaints of same.
The four-part plan – which is purely advisory – is broken into four main parts and begins with ‘a tool kit of recommendations for how schools can best conduct a climate survey that measures the number of victims, student attitudes and campus knowledge about how and when to report sexual violence,’ says CNN.
The next step will include prevention strategies, including how fellow students can intervene in potential sexual assault situations, as well as training for campus employees, who will be taught how to deal with rape victims.
The third step will involve setting up confidential services for students who may be afraid to report sexual assaults. The existing sexual assault reporting system in many universities requires campus officials to file an official crime report, which can frequently deter victims from coming forward,
Lastly, the government will launch a new website, NotAlone.gov which will allow students to see how their school is working with the administration on these efforts.
A White House task force spent a number of months discussing all issues with thousands of college staff and students to create this new program, which is intended to bring to light the major issue of sexual assaults occurring in universities across the US.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.