Penn State University should reveal more information about how the school punishes sexual assault, change how it investigates rape claims and survey students on their experiences with sexual violence in college, a task force said Thursday.
The Penn State task force on sexual assault report makes 18 recommendations, including improving employee training, identifying which staff members must report assault cases, hiring a full time Title IX coordinator to oversee improvements, and releasing expanded data on sexual misconduct punishment.
“Right now, in the absence of information, people fill in their own gaps,” Danny Shaha, senior director of Penn State’s student conduct office, told The Huffington Post on Wednesday.
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Some of the current education programming is ineffective, the task force says. Melissa McCleery, a student member of the task force, noted that many students fail to pay attention to the required online modules on sexual violence. Penn State should reconsider its programming and emphasize bystander training to help compel students to stop an assault when they can.
“In a party situation, where someone has been drinking and someone else is trying to take advantage of them, you don’t have to step in and be a hero and change the entire world,” McCleery said, describing bystander intervention. “It can be, ‘Hey, I think your friends are looking for you, can you come over here with me?'”
Sims said the task force considered changes likely to result from the federal investigation. The possibility of new federal or state laws may require further changes, he said.
