The VAWA Amendments to the Clery Act – 10 Years Later
As we close out Women’s History Month and look ahead to Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are honoring the tenth anniversary of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which amended the Clery Act to include dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking as Clery Act crimes. The 2013 VAWA amendments also established the first ever federal requirement for prevention programming and response procedures for the crimes of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS) as well as universal standards for disciplinary procedures at institutions of higher education. These requirements ensure that students and employees on college campuses can recognize these types of crimes, intervene safely, understand consent and what constitutes a healthy relationship, and receive due process when resolving complaints (see related resources below). The VAWA amendments also impacted hate crime bias categories under the Clery Act, adding gender identity and separating national origin and ethnicity.
The original 1994 passage of VAWA led to revolutionary changes, including a significant increase in reporting domestic and sexual violence to police and all states passing laws making stalking a crime. It also led to the 1995 creation of The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the U.S. Department of Justice. OVW takes a multifaceted approach in implementing VAWA, reducing violence against women and strengthening programs supporting these efforts nationwide; among these programs is OVW’s campus grant program, which in 2022 gave over $10.6 million in funding to institutions of higher education to prevent and respond to DVSAS crimes. Since 2009 Clery Center has proudly served as the Federal Technical Assistance provider for Clery Act compliance under this program, providing education and training for thousands of grantees.
As colleges and universities have worked to integrate the 2013 VAWA amendments, they have gained a clearer picture of what violence actually looks like on campus, allowing them to more sufficiently prevent and respond to gender-based violence. Previously, incidents involving behavior of this nature would have been classified as aggravated assault, if anything at all, which fails to capture the nuanced nature of gender-based violence and how it should be addressed and prevented. The VAWA amendments also provide equity for both parties involved in disciplinary procedures, ensuring that both have the right to an advisor of choice, and simultaneous written notification of the outcome of such proceedings including available appeal procedures. In 2023 some of these rights might sound familiar, as they were echoed (and undermined, in some cases, as we outline here) in 2020’s updated Title IX regulations.
Over the past ten years, the impact of the VAWA amendments on campus safety has been tremendous, providing institutions of higher education with tools and standards for preventing and responding to crimes that tend to be misunderstood, underreported, or dismissed outright. These standards increase transparency and awareness on college campuses, supporting the original goals of the Clery Act. Looking ahead, we hope that the next decade continues to see legislation furthering these goals — such as the Respond and Educate about Campus Hazing (REACH) Act — advancing campus safety for a new generation.
Related Resources:
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End Rape on Campus increases access to vital campus safety information with their new Campus Accountability Map and Tool
“I never knew the Clery Act existed,” is one of the things we hear most often from college students and their families. Clery Center has spent over 35 years working to improve campus safety and we know that Clery Act knowledge is not a universal reality among students and their loved ones. End Rape on Campus (EROC) has brought us one step closer to that ideal with their new Campus Accountability Map & Tool.
Under the Clery Act, colleges and universities are required to publish an annual security report (ASR), which includes crime statistics, policies and procedures, rights and options, prevention efforts, and more. The ASR must be made available to current and prospective students and employees and the statistics within it must be submitted to the Department of Education each year. However, most people still don’t know that this information exists and for the average student, accessing and understanding an ASR can be challenging.
EROC’s Campus Accountability Map & Tool (CAMT) compiles Clery Act required information including investigation procedures, prevention efforts, survivor resources, and statistics for dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in a user-friendly interface while allowing viewers to compare metrics between schools. By increasing access to this important information, students and their families will be empowered to make informed decisions and institutions will be motivated to strengthen their commitment to supporting survivors. For advocates and campus safety professionals this tool also allows us the opportunity to easily identify trends and areas of improvement across campuses so we can support institutions in better preventing and responding to these crimes.
Using the CAMT you can easily search by school, state, ZIP code, enrollment size, or if a Title IX investigation is ongoing. Once you select an institution, you are presented with a summary of their Clery data as well as their policies and approach to incidents of sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, and stalking. You can compare up to three institutions at once and see all of the data for each at a glance. EROC has also provided quick links to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, the AAU Campus Climate Survey, a list of Title IX coordinators with contact information, survivor resources, and more.
At the heart of the Clery Act has always been the belief that transparency is the key to creating change. We are so pleased to have this resource to share with students, families, and campus safety professionals, and hope it brings greater commitment to supporting survivors on college campuses.
In the news: College students have never had a roadmap for navigating sexual assault — until now
Related Free Resources from Clery Center:
End Rape On Campus' data is sourced from federal databases and college and university websites by a team of dedicated volunteers. The numerical statistics on the number of reported rapes, fondlings, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking incidents are disclosed by colleges and universities in 2018-2020 in compliance with the Clery Act. This data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security Data site. Since the CAMT is a crowdsourced tool, it is possible that there is an error or that the information needs to be updated. To bring EROC's attention to a potential effort, please submit via this Error Form. |
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January 11, 2017
Statement from the Clery Center Regarding "Rolling Stone"
The Columbia Journalism School’s report on the “Rolling Stone” article “A Rape on Campus” is a powerful reminder of the damaging impact of ineffective reporting.
Although “Rolling Stone” uses support for Jackie to explain procedural missteps, responsible reporting practices are, in fact, fundamental to sensitively responding to the needs of survivors when covering campus sexual assault.
Responsible reporting practices when working with survivors include:
- Setting expectations about the different stages of the process, including how interviews will be conducted and the outlet’s fact-checking methods;
- Maintaining open communication to address survivors’ questions balanced with candid conversations about what survivors may experience when coming forward with their stories; and
- Commitment to continued education for journalists on working with survivors of sexual assault. (The National Sexual Violence Resource Center partnered with Poynter News University to create a course, “Reporting on Sexual Violence,” which is available at no cost.)
“Rolling Stone” owed it to Jackie, and to all other survivors, to report thoroughly and sensitively. They owed it to their readership to publish a comprehensive story. And they owed it to themselves to get it right – the first time.
Columbia’s report noted that the story was viewed over 2.7 million times — more than any other story “Rolling Stone” published, not including those featuring a celebrity. With this enormous reach, “Rolling Stone” had the opportunity to increase dialogue about a critical problem at colleges and universities across the nation. In spite of incredible leaps over the past year, the failures of “A Rape on Campus” moved the conversation in a stifling and unhelpful direction.
The Clery Center envisions a world in which survivors can come forward without fear. Though “Rolling Stone” drastically missed the mark, we still believe in the power of survivors telling their stories and the ability of the media to share survivor experiences with thoughtfulness and care.
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May 12, 2020
Clery Center Statement in Response to New Title IX Regulations
Last week, amid ongoing concerns in the higher education community about COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Education released updated regulations for Title IX; regulations that have been in the making since 2017.
The new regulations note they received 124,000 comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM), including Clery Center’s. This number alone demonstrates the significance of these regulations and the lives they will impact for years to come. This includes, first and foremost, the impact on the lives of survivors of harassment and assault, who experience consequences far beyond equal access to education. As stated in the preamble, “Commenters told the Department that rape and sexual assault, in particular, changed their lives forever, and has severe consequences emotionally, physically, academically, and professionally.” (p 107) It is with this knowledge that we remain, as we were when reading the NPRM, deeply troubled by many elements in the regulations which will not only lead to a decrease in students seeking support and justice at their institutions, but will exacerbate these severe consequences. These regulations disingenuously seek alignment with the Clery Act in order to justify adversarial measures that further complicate disciplinary procedures intended to counter hostile or abusive educational environments.
As we continue to work through reading and interpreting the new Title IX regulations, we do so with disappointment and dismay at the expectation that institutions of higher education are expected to implement any procedural changes within three month’s time, while in the midst of responding to a global pandemic. In comparison, section 304 of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act — the most recent amendments affecting the Clery Act, also focused on dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking — gave institutions an implementation period three times as long. Regardless of our disagreement with aspects of the regulations, our expertise in helping schools develop and implement critical policies required under the Clery Act tells us that any changes of this magnitude require thoughtful consideration, training, and collaboration in order to be implemented with the fairness and equity the Department claims to value above all else.
We at Clery Center remain committed to supporting schools in creating safer campus communities and we continue to believe in upholding the spirit of the Clery Act. It is our hope, which is reflected in our training and education programs, that colleges and universities will remain dedicated to supporting survivors, keeping resources accessible to those who need them, and viewing compliance with both the Clery Act and Title IX as an institutional responsibility and the blueprint for changing the culture around campus safety.
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