Implementation of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2013: Document analysis of annual security reports

Abstract

Sexual violence is one of the most challenging campus health and safety concerns faced by institutions of higher education. Over the past nine years, federal mandates and guidance on how institutions prevent and respond to sexual violence has continuously evolved. The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2013 requires institutions to track and report incidents of sexual violence, offer support services, and provide prevention programs. Despite this federal mandate, outcomes are mixed. Some institutions face audits, are found in noncompliance, and receive fines while other institutions meet compliance requirements. One possible reason some institutions are at risk for noncompliance could be insufficient institutional policies on reporting and support services. The purpose of this research study was to explore the ways institutions of higher education responded to changing federal guidance by comparing the sexual violence policies and procedures reported in their 2012 and 2017 Annual Security Reports. This study followed an interpretivist theoretical perspective through the method of document analysis. For this study, the dataset consisted of ten annual security reports from five institutions. The five institutions selected were public, land-grant member institutions of the Big Ten athletic conference that enroll over 45,000 students. This study utilized a document analysis of institutions' ASRs required by the Clery Act as defined by Violence Against Women Act to collect data to answer the research questions. The findings suggest that institutions addressed a number of issues including a victim-centered approach, increased sexual violence awareness and prevention focus, an evolution of details on institution's accountability process, inconsistencies among institutions, and an emphasis on police processes.