June 13, 2013
President Young appoints Sexual Assault Task Force
UW President Michael K. Young has appointed a task force that will provide a comprehensive report on programs for prevention of and response to sexual assault among students.
The Sexual Assault Task Force will look at current practices as well as best practices on a national scale, and will recommend ways to enhance the UW’s response to this issue, which Young characterized as a chronic problem on college campuses.
The task force itself is part of a broader plan for assuring that the UW is “doing all we can and should do to prevent sexual assault and to properly respond to every individual report of sexual assault,” Young wrote in his charge to the task force.
The task force already has gathered information regarding current policies, programs and services and is now beginning to gather the views of the community. It is conducting focus groups with students, staff, faculty and academic personnel to gather opinions regarding the UW’s strengths and challenges regarding its response to this issue. The focus group information will probably be used to inform a survey, so that the task force can hear from a broad sample of the community.
The goal is to produce a final report for President Young, including specific recommendations and an implementation plan, by October.
Questions about the task force, or comments on university practices regarding sexual assault should be directed to the task force chair, Ellen Taylor, assistant vice president for student life and director of the Counseling Center, ebtaylor@uw.edu.
