V-DAY & SAFER Campus Accountability Project
Provided by V-Day 
A Demand for College Sexual Assault Policy Reform
V-Day and Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) are proud to partner to bring a transformative policy reform initiative to college campuses. With your help, we can make colleges and universities around the United States safer for all students.
V-Day & SAFER Campus Accountability Project - Sexual Assault ACTIVISM month!
This April, V-Day & SAFER are urging student organizers and their allies to be aware and be active. For 10 years, advocates across the country have spoken out against rape during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Today, we are challenging campus communities to recognize this SAAM as Sexual Assault ACTIVISM Month and pledge to change how your campus prevents and responds to sexual violence.
We need students AND ALUMNI to register at www.safercampus.org and submit their school using CAP�s easy step-by-step policy review form. The database is utilized by student & alumni activists looking to make positive change on their campus, and also provides us with a wealth of information on the best and worst practices in sexual assault prevention and response at schools across the country. Only students & alumni can submit to CAP, but anyone can access the database by registering for free.
HELP kick-start real change on YOUR campus!
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PHASE 1: THE NEED FOR CHANGE -- we need your help!
- This project invites college students to become advocates by researching their schools� sexual assault policies, and finding out what their schools are doing to prevent and respond to sexual assault.
- Students can research their school�s policies & programs and submit their findings on our National V-Day/SAFER Campus Accountability Project Database.
- To view existing data for your school or submit your findings, please register at www.safercampus.org/policies. While the database is searchable to anyone who registers, only students can submit their schools� policy analysis. The submissions will be reviewed by trained SAFER staff, who will also be available to help you if you have any questions while completing the questionnaire.
PHASE 2: CHANGE AT YOUR SCHOOL
- After reviewing your school�s policies and programs, you may find things that you want to change. SAFER and V-Day exist to help students make real, lasting change in their communities, and they have many tools to offer you. Check out SAFER�s Activist Resource Center for information on how to organize school-wide efforts. We can help you with a number of projects, from raising awareness about sexual violence to totally reforming your school�s sexual assault policy. Trained SAFER staff are available to help you if you want to change how your school prevents and responds to sexual assault.
PHASE 3: SEEING CHANGE
- In the 2011-2012 school year, V-Day and SAFER will review the data collected, assess the state of the nation�s campus sexual assault policies, follow up with students to find out what changes they have started on their campuses, and make recommendations based on the data that you�ve collectively input.
- We will publish a revised and expanded version of SAFER�s �What Makes a Better Sexual Assault Policy?� a list of the key criteria to effectively prevent, track and respond to sexual assaults on college campuses.
- The V-Day/SAFER Campus Accountability Project Database will provide clear evidence to students and administrators�is your campus a national leader in preventing and responding to sexual assault or is it failing students when it comes to safety?
- We will begin to share our findings and recommendations with national media.
PHASE 4: CHANGE ACROSS THE NATION
- By the 2012-2013 school year, students on campuses around the country will have demanded and won changes from their administrations. V-Day and SAFER will continue to support student groups as they press for change, and we will look to them for guidance on how to carry their campaigns across the nation.
- One goal is to integrate the V-Day/SAFER Campus Accountability Project Database into existing college ranking systems so that a weighted rating system of campus sexual assault policies is available for prospective students and their families.
- We will also do outreach to major media so that the �Sexual Assault Response Policy� scores for every school in the nation are integrated into publications� annual college issues, applying external public relations pressure on schools.
Learn more about the epidemic of the secrecy surround sexual assaults on college campuses by reading the 9 month investigative report by the Center for Public Integrity.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/campus_assault/
Provided by V-Day.
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Past Feminist Activism for the College Grrl Columns:
We want to hear about the feminist activism happening on your campus! To submit an article for this column, send us an e-mail. Here we will spotlight feminist themes, issues and events, and serve as a hub for individual young women and feminist groups on campuses across the country to network with each other, share information, and organize students around issues and events.
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