As the NASEM 2018 report and numerous research studies on sexual harassment in higher education have demonstrated, these compliance-driven efforts have had limited and sometimes contradictory effects on survivors, particularly on members of racial and sexual minority communities who are more frequently and severely targeted. Sexual misconduct in higher education, the presenters argue, is embedded in a larger context of patriarchal, racist, homophobic, able-bodied hierarchies that must be addressed in a participatory fashion in order to reduce its destructive effects on both academics and their research environments.

In this presentation, Torres and Hutchison draw on their work with university administration and professional associations to evaluate some of the current barriers to implementing more equitable and effective measures against sexual violence and sexual harassment in academia. Building on feminist governance, anti-racist, and alternative dispute resolution principles, the authors propose the need for systemic and curricular solutions that consider multiple constituencies, power relations, and administrative and governance constraints, as well as external pressures stemming from public debate and federal oversight. By centering intersectional, research-based, culturally-specific, and faculty-centered approaches to evaluating our academic institutions, the presentation will invite audience discussion and provide resources for moving beyond compliance in how we combat sexual harassment in the programs, institutions, and associations of higher education.