Obama, others launch effort to reduce college sexual violence
President Obama and other federal officials are scheduled to launch a campaign Friday aimed at encouraging more college students, especially men, to prevent sexual violence.
The effort will be known as “It’s on Us” and will team with media companies, including video game makers, and celebrities to raise awareness of sexual violence on campus and increase prevention, according to White House officials.
The NCAA will also support the campaign and will start showing public service announcements this weekend, the officials said.
The campaign is part of the White House’s focus on reducing sexual assault on college campuses. Obama and other officials appointed a task force to examine the issue earlier this year, and the group made several recommendations earlier this summer, including requiring campuses to publicly disclose more types of sexual violence and harassment.
Over the last three years, the U.S. Department of Education has launched more investigations, released more guidelines, received more complaints and issued more fines against universities for faulty reporting of sexual misconduct and harassment than ever before. Several public and private colleges in California are under investigation by the Education Department after complaints were filed by students and others alleging that the schools’ mishandled their cases.
UC officials unveiled a plan calling for mandatory training for all students, staff and faculty, improved support for victims and more thorough investigations earlier this week.
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