COLUMBUS – Public and private colleges in Ohio are releasing a plan to fight sexual assault on campus.
The Changing Campus Culture initiative, announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Higher Education, has recommendations for all Ohio campuses, including two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities.
The recommendations include conducting annual campus surveys about sexual assault, and creating a culture of shared respect and responsibility.
Nearly a quarter of undergraduate women surveyed at more than two dozen universities say they experienced unwanted sexual contact sometime during college, according to a report by the Association of American Universities released last month.
The plan calls for colleges and universities to use the data compiled by the annual “climate survey” to guide officials in mapping out their sexual assault response and prevention actions. It also calls for schools to develop a comprehensive, survivor-centered response protocol, department Chancellor John Carey said.
Lawmakers and Gov. John Kasich set aside $2 million in the state budget data analysis, training and individual grants to schools to implement the recommendations in the report, he said.
There also are plans for regional meetings to discuss implementing the recommendations.