UH must step up against sex assault

It’s been nine months since the University of Hawaii-Manoa was named as one of 55 schools under federal review for its handling of sexual harassment and sexual violence, raising flags about the severity of these problems on campus. And though UH-Manoa is now touting increased training on campus, such efforts appear spotty to nonexistent — a serious disconnect that must be quickly fixed.

While those closest to the efforts — such as UH-Manoa’s gender equity specialist Jennifer Rose — maintain that there is more awareness due to increased training for faculty and students, other key faculty leaders say that’s just not happening.

"I haven’t seen any evidence at all that there’s been any real change in attitudes toward campus sexual assault or sexual harassment on the campus," said Meda Chesney-Lind, chairwoman of UH’s women’s studies department. "Of all of the departments, you would have thought we would have heard something. But there’s been no change — certainly no extraordinary uptick in information about campus sex assault."

That sentiment was echoed by Faculty Senate Chairman Ron Bontekoe, who has not been apprised of any training being offered. Further, the Philosophy Department chairman told Star-Advertiser reporter Dan Nakaso, he’s not been asked to provide any instructions to his faculty to be alert to potential sex harassment in their classes since the federal investigation began.

Clearly, there’s a troubling gap between what some campus leaders perceive to be happening, and what is actually occurring. Whatever well-intentioned efforts might be underway, they are not reaching into the campus community in an efficient, coordinated way. Given the seriousness of sexual harassment and sexual violence in today’s college campuses, this needs to be quickly remedied, so that an unequivocal, comprehensive policy brings all staff and students onto the same awareness page.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent investigators to UH-Manoa in April, but it’s not known when findings will be released. Rose is hoping that UH’s training efforts can help mitigate any criticisms that are found — which makes it even more vital for such efforts to resonate.

On the UH-Manoa campus, there exists a steady number of reports involving forcible sex offenses. In 2012, the most recent year data was available, nine of the 11 forcible sex offenses reported occurred in dorms or other residences. In 2010 and again in 2011, a dozen forcible sex offenses were reported.

In recent weeks, the horrific nature of campus rape was revealed in a rare, revelatory trial on the mainland. Two former Vanderbilt University football players were convicted Tuesday in the gang rape of a female student; she had been drugged at a nightspot, and surveillance footage showed her being carried unconscious to a dorm room, where she was repeatedly raped.

Recent research found that 1 in 4 female students around the country were likely to be sexually assaulted as undergraduates, a frightening statistic for any parent of a coed, let alone the coed herself. Further, 80 percent of campus rapes went unreported between 1995 and 2013, a recent Justice Department study found, compared with 67 percent in the general population.

Sexual violence and sex harassment must be combatted with vigor. While some UH-Manoa departments such as the law school did receive training on these issues last year — and Rose herself has led dozens of sessions in 2014 — the education must be widely and evenly disseminated. As a matter of campuswide policy, all department heads should be getting the same word on boundaries and policies, and in turn, see that the information is communicated, applied and reinforced, from faculty to students. Only by ensuring systemwide training and awareness can these serious problems be dealt with seriously.