The UNM Action Collaborative for Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, a local facet of the National Academies for Science, Engineering, and Medicine, is offering several upcoming opportunities for the campus community to examine how to increase effectiveness of sexual violence response on campus. 

The opportunities include the Public Summit of the National Academies’ Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, and a UNM presentation by the authors of Sexual Citizens, the most comprehensive study of sexual assault on a campus to date.

Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education 2020 Public Summit
The national Public Summit mirrors an ongoing effort by departments across UNM to address and prevent sexual harassment, while simultaneously and fully supporting survivors. It will give UNM community members a chance to learn from and collaborate with researchers and administrators from across the country who are engaging in the same conversation, including those institutions engaged in health research and service. Offered remotely on Oct. 19 and 20, the Summit provides participants the opportunity to identify, discuss and elevate innovative and effective approaches for addressing and preventing sexual harassment.

“The Summit is an opportunity for folks from all 60 participating institutions (and beyond) to attend amazing sessions on preventing sexual harassment in higher education, including research panels, best practice and action sessions, and keynotes,” explained Liz Hutchison, director of the Feminist Research Institute and associate vice president of the Division for Equity and Inclusion at UNM. “We encourage everyone to take part.”

The 2020 Summit will be hosted virtually by the University of Wisconsin System and registration is now open.

Click here to register or read the event agenda.

Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power and Assault on Campus
In addition to the Public Summit, the UNM Action Collaborative, along with the Office of Academic Affairs, the HSC Office of the Chancellor, the Feminist Research Institute and the Women’s Resource Center are hosting a remote session. The presentation will feature the authors of Sexual Citizens, Jennifer Hirsch (Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University) and Shamus Khan (Professor and Chair of Sociology, Columbia University).

The duo will discuss the Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) at Columbia University, a multi-method public health study that has generated important new findings on peer-to-peer sexual relations and sexual violence. Drawing upon the study, Hirsch and Khan present an entirely new framework for understanding campus sexual violence that emphasizes sexual assault’s social roots – transcending current debates about consent, predators in a ‘hunting ground’ and the dangers of hooking up. 

Confidential advocates will be available for remote consultation during this presentation. 

The event will be Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 1 to 3 p.m. The presentation is free, but registration is required.

UNM Action Collaborative
UNM is a member of NASEM’s four-year Action Collaborative initiative, which supports member institutions in working groups on evaluation, prevention, remediation and response to sexual harassment.

Seeking to empower the University community to sustain and deepen its commitment to preventing sexual violence and harassment on campus, the Action Collaborative at UNM continues and enhances the efforts initiated while UNM was under an agreement with the Department of Justice. This effort is led by Hutchison, Senior Vice Provost Barbara Rodríguez, and HSC Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Amy Levi. A number of campus initiatives are also involved, including the Office of Equal Opportunity, Coordinated Community Response Team (led by the UNM Clery officer and a director of Hispanic student services), and ADVANCE at UNM.

“Through the UNM Action Collaborative, we’ve connected and built upon initiatives that incorporated representatives from across campus who seek to increase UNM’s capacity to respond effectively to sexual violence,” Hutchison said. 

For more information on these and other upcoming events, visit https://diverse.unm.edu/programs/action-collaborative.html.