16 Ways to Mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence!
“Violence against women is not acceptable. It is not inevitable. It can be prevented.” — Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, U.N. Women
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign begins November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on December 10, Human Rights Day, highlighting the indelible fact that violence against girls and women is a human rights violation. This year’s campaign theme, From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All, highlights the “relationship between militarism and the right to education in situations of violent conflict, in relative peace, and [a] variety of education settings.”
Parallel to the 16 Days campaign, the United Nations’ UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, led by U.N. Women, encourages “orange events” like concerts, flash mobs, and marathons featuring the color to take place around the world. These events will “symbolize a brighter future without violence” and launch the first-ever U.N. Framework on Preventing Violence against Women.
The U.N. 16 Days campaign invites participants to “orange the world” to raise awareness around gender-based violence. Image by UN Women, Flickr Creative Commons
But we’ve done some of the work for you. Here is a day-by-day guide to raising awareness about gender-based violence during and after the campaign!
Day 1: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Share the Violence against Women infographic to increase awareness of gender-based violence (GBV) as a global pandemic.
Day 2:
Swap your Facebook profile picture.
To kick off the campaign, all Facebook users can change their profile pictures to the 16 Days campaign logo for the duration of the campaign. Help spread the word and bring awareness to GBV and the right to safe, accessible education by changing your profile picture and inviting your Facebook friends to change theirs!
Download the campaign logo and upload it as your profile picture.
Day 3: Download and share the AAUW Ending Campus Sexual Assault Tool Kit.
Use these resources to raise awareness about campus sexual assault so that everyone can help make campuses safe for all students.
Day 4: Check out the international 16 Days campaign calendar.
Get inspired by what’s happening in your local area and globally. Visit often since activities and events are updated daily!
Day 5: Follow @16DaysCampaign on Twitter and join the conversation!
Keep reading and tweeting the AAUW blog for information on how violence affects education for women and girls, and spread the word on our International Fellowships for women around the globe.
Live Blog: The Last Meeting for Making New Campus Sexual Assault Regulations, Day 6
What You Need to Know
After three months of hard work, negotiators agreed by consensus to a proposed rule to implement the VAWA amendments to the Clery Act (also known as Campus SaVE). This is a victory for improving campus safety – it takes these regulations to implement the new provisions in VAWA. The six sessions haven’t been without disagreement. If you’ve been following the liveblog you know that divisions were deep at times and that consensus seemed potentially out of reach. You can read about some of the compromises made by the group during the final sessions in the transcript below.
AAUW is gratified negotiators moved this rule forward – it will guide colleges and universities to provide prevention programming, clear policies, transparent disciplinary proceedings, and more comprehensive crime statistics. Students gain much from the implementation of the new law and these regulations – an advisor of their choice at disciplinary proceedings and more detail about how their school handles certain crimes, from reporting, to investigation, to disciplinary proceeding. In addition, the programming and awareness activities this law will spur have the potential to stem the tide of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus.
There will still be a public comment period on the rule and AAUW will be weighing in. We hope you will too!
Read the live blog below.
Live Blog: Making New Campus Sexual Assault Regulations, Day 5
What You Need to Know
Analysis: Today we kicked off the final two days of the negotiated rulemaking for the VAWA Amendments to the Clery Act, also called Campus SaVE, and are watching closely to see what rules colleges and universities will have to follow to implement the law. Overall, the tone was cordial and consensus seemed (possibly) attainable. But that doesn’t mean the day wasn’t without fireworks over draft language on reporting, compliance, and definitions.
The good:
- Most negotiators seemed to want to find compromise. No one played the “I can’t agree to consensus with this in there” card… yet.
- The group has found agreement around a definition of stalking that I think works for everyone. In the first sessions the negotiators talked about stalking a lot, so the agreement indicates good work by the committee. But we haven’t gotten to the section about counting stalking reports – which might raise some issues.
- Although negotiators failed to avoid the same conversation from the February session around dating violence – again highlighting that most negotiators do not agree on what is a dating relationship – there was actually loose agreement around a definition of the term this time.
The bad:
- There is a clear divide on some topics between a compliance-focused approach and a transparency-focused approach (doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive). Case in point: schools will be disclosing information about the sanctions they levy and the protective measures they use following disciplinary proceedings around dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Under the draft language, schools should list all sanctions and protective measures they use. Negotiators representing schools worried whether schools would be firmly held to that list and even, somewhat unbelievably, worried whether they would be punished for adding a sanction or protection not on the original list. The moment of levity on this came from the Department of Education, which pointed out that going above and beyond is not a problem. The Department said the goals here are to help students know what options they have and to find the schools who are bad actors. The compliance focus really has the group struggling to see the forest for the trees.
Still waiting on:
- Tomorrow negotiators will finish conversation around the term “advisor of their choice” and that the accuser and accused can bring one to proceedings. In addition, they’ll need to finish disciplinary proceedings, get to counting crimes, and approve all of the language changes proposed today. Ultimately, negotiators will be asked if they have achieved consensus on the draft language. You can learn more about what that means and where we go next, here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/neg-reg-faq.html. As always, follow along with our live blog tomorrow.
Read the live blog below.
Live Blog: Making New Campus Sexual Assault Regulations, Day 4
What You Need to Know
Analysis: Today’s meeting of the negotiated rulemaking committee on the VAWA amendments to the Clery Act was a bit rocky – the negotiators covered some of the more detailed parts of the draft rule (prevention programs, training, disciplinary proceedings) and opinions in the room varied.
The main takeaways:
- Some negotiators worried that the language on prevention programs was too detailed and couldn’t be applied to all types of schools. After ironing out confusion about how the requirement would apply to all students and employees (it would need to be offered but attendance wouldn’t be mandatory) the group still left up in the air exactly where they wanted to see the language go. The Department of Education, for its part, indicated that their goal is to allow flexibility in delivery of the programs but to ensure the definitions and requirements everyone works off are consistent.
- The disciplinary proceedings conversation seemed to create a divide between institution representatives and students and survivors, but also revealed that many around the table work at schools who are good actors on this topic, which isn’t always the case. The main points discussed: disclosing the sanctions being applied to students by schools following disciplinary proceedings, the role of an advisor in proceedings, and the interaction between sharing results of proceedings and privacy laws.
- The negotiators also discussed how the rule should indicate that Title IX will interact with various on-campus activities such as: training, investigations, disciplinary proceedings, and accommodations, to name a few. The Department has been clear that nothing in this new law and the regulation will change Title IX, and they suggested language to reinforce that point. Some members of the group were not completely on board with that draft language.
I’ll leave you with the positive note the Department tried to end the day on: days 3 and 4 tend to be the hardest in a negotiated rulemaking since so many details are being worked out, but there’s reason to be optimistic the group can reach consensus. The negotiators were encouraged to talk over the next month and think of compromise ways to move forward. Likewise, those following along can reach out to negotiators if there are suggestions for ways to solve some of the problems vocalized.
We’ll be back on March 31 and April 1 for the final days of negotiation!
Catch up on Days 1, 2, and 3: You can read our summary analysis or review the entire transcript.
Read the live blog below.
Live Blog: Making New Campus Sexual Assault Regulations, Day 3
What You Need to Know
Analysis: Day 3 the of the negotiated rulemaking around the Violence Against Women Act amendments to the Clery Act (also known as Campus SaVE) proceeded a bit differently from the first two days – negotiators had a draft rule to work from, and consensus-building was clearly on their minds. If you’re just joining us and wondering what negotiated rulemaking is, you can learn more here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/neg-reg-faq.html.
A few things came up:
- Getting the definition of stalking correct is tough. How it interacts with Clery Geography came up several times and finding a way to ensure stalking is captured accurately in statistics is still in flux. Generally no sides on this, though — everyone around the table wants to get it right.
- There was some hesitation about setting a definition of consent in this regulation, but that riff mostly stemmed from university counsel concerns. The Department of Education explained a desire to ensure statistics are consistent across schools.
- The statistic reporting tool (a chart) is complicated and there’s still confusion (and resistance) around expanding it. The new law asks that we learn about more crimes on campus, specifically domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking– but this is being called “double counting” by some negotiators.
- Finally, confusion lingers around reporting for Clery statistics purposes and confidentiality. The Department of Education made clear, however, that there’s a lot of room to improve the draft or provide additional info in a regulation preamble.
We will be back at 9 a.m. tomorrow for day four!
Follow the day four live blog »
Catch up on Days 1 and 2: You can read our summary analysis or review the entire transcript.
Read the live blog below.
Live Blog: Campus SaVE Rulemaking, Day 2
What You Need to Know
Analysis: The second day of the negotiated rulemaking for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments to the Clery Act concluded today after about seven hours of mostly in-depth and issues-focused conversation. The group discussed the following key aspects of the new law: counting and reporting formats, disciplinary proceedings, training officials on campus, the simultaneous and in-writing notification of involved parties, appeals requirements, nondisclosure agreements, outcomes of proceedings, a definition around applicable jurisdiction, and technical changes from the law. You’ll have to read the liveblog below for details on each topic, but there was some agreement on ways forward in creating rules. Excellent news early in the negotiated rulemaking process. Overall, there were good suggestions from negotiators to balance the needs of survivors with schools’ concerns.
While conversations were going on today, the Department of Education updated their website to include the resources negotiators were using. Great news for all of us following along. Be sure to check out the issue papers in particular and see how the conversation below matched up with points raised there.
We’ll be back on February 24 when negotiators will have draft regulatory language in front of them for consideration. In the meantime, if you’re following along and have questions or concerns about what’s being discussed, email us advocacy@aauw.org or shoot us a tweet @AAUWPolicy.
Read the Live Blog Below
Live Blog: Campus SaVE Rulemaking, Day 1
What You Need to Know
Analysis: Today we were in the audience for the first day of the negotiated rulemaking around the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments to the Clery Act. Ultimately, these provisions will help schools reduce campus sexual assault and violence. Negotiated rulemakings are an interesting process (learn more here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/neg-reg-faq.html) and the day started with a bit of housekeeping – three new alternate members were added to the panel (one additional nominee was not), the group agreed to consensus procedures, and an agenda was worked out.
The rest of the day was devoted to figuring out the new terms that need definitions, and discussing concerns around statistical reporting. You can check out a picture of the big whiteboard of terms (ever expanding) in the liveblog for a sense of what was on negotiators’ minds. When it comes to data collection, there was a bit of disagreement and we’ll be watching this closely. Some negotiators don’t support reporting incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking separately from the current Clery crime categories, which include crimes like aggravated assault and burglary. Students and administrators might then lose the ability to assess the scope of these problems on campus, making it harder to put an end to them. We will be back Tuesday at 9 a.m. for day two.
Read the Live Blog Below
Waiting for VAWA – A Triumphant Tale (told in gifs)
So VAWA was up for reauthorization in January (JANUARY!) of 2012. The reauthorized VAWA would have put in place more reporting, widespread prevention programming, and stronger policies on college campuses, as well as protection for LGBTQ folks and Native American women.
But time ran out.
So we waited…
until February 12, 2013, when the Senate passed an inclusive VAWA and sent it onto the House.
But then the House introduced a new bill - one that excluded the protections for LGBTQ folks, Native Americans, and the Campus SaVE act.
So we waited (again…) to see which version would pass.
And then on February 28, the inclusive VAWA passed in the House!
And today, after more than a year of waiting, we saw Barack Obama sign the inclusive Violence Against Women Act into law!
Our awesome policy department celebrates the passing of the inclusive VAWA in the House!
A U.S. Department of Justice study found that around 28 percent of women are targets of attempted or completed sexual assault while they are college students.
Make campus safety a priority: Urge the House to pass an inclusive VAWA.
The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on their revised version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Here is just one more reason that we must pass an inclusive VAWA.
Take action! Tell Congress what’s up: http://bit.ly/120rOYR
We are so disappointed to report that the House GOP Leadership released a VAWA bill on Friday that fails to include any meaningful campus safety provisions.
Recently, the Senate passed a bipartisan VAWA bill would put in place more reporting, widespread prevention programming, and stronger policies on college campuses…
but the House proposed a new bill that merely asks for a survey of colleges about their campus safety policies and procedures.
Basically, while the Senate bill would require colleges to improve campus safety, the House bill would simply ask schools about it.
Contact your representative and urge the House to pass a VAWA bill that will actually make a difference on college campuses.
AAUW is very disappointed to report that the House GOP Leadership released a VAWA bill today that fails to include any meaningful campus safety provisions. While the Senate-passed bipartisan VAWA bill would put in place more reporting, widespread prevention programming, and stronger policies on college campuses, the House proposal merely asks for a survey of colleges about their campus safety policies and procedures. For this and other reasons, AAUW simply cannot support the House bill.
“Surveys are a well-known Washington ploy to put off until tomorrow what should be done today,” said Lisa Maatz, our director of public policy and government relations. “The AAUW-championed provisions in the Senate bill would require colleges to improve campus safety. The House bill would simply ask schools about it. Given that there continues to be an alarming number of sexual assaults on college campuses across the country, AAUW members expect action – not stall tactics.”
Take action & urge the House of Representatives to pass a VAWA bill that will actually make a difference on college campuses: http://bit.ly/120rOYR