The release last Wednesday of the McCaskill report concerning sexual violence on college campuses pushed forward a national conversation about sexual assault that is desperately needed.
The report, commissioned by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and prepared by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight, underlies the seriousness and pervasiveness of the issue.
As UNC moves forward and tries to correct past institutional flaws in its handling of sexual assault, there are lessons the University can take from the report.
In recent years, UNC has appeared to embrace reform and recognize the severity of the sexual assault issue, properly prioritizing the development of measures meant to combat the scourge of sexual violence at UNC.
The University’s sexual assault task force has done important work in good faith, but the impending release of the task force’s recommendations should only mark the beginning of UNC’s policies.
The release of their recommendations should not serve as an excuse to file away sexual assault policy away as something that has already been dealt with.
The report has come too late to significantly affect the recommendations of the task force, but both can be used to craft a more thorough sexual assault policy in the future.
One of the issues the McCaskill report highlights is the difficulty of collecting thorough and accurate data about sexual violence, making it too easy to underestimate the devastating scope of the problem.
UNC can help with that issue by conducting thorough climate surveys. Recognizing the true scope of the problem is a good place to start.
