New memorandum focuses on eliminating college campus sexual violence
"This happens on college campuses, it's tragic and it needs to be addressed,” said Father John Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame.
It’s been one year since a task force at Saint Mary’s College first announced their findings on sexual violence. Those findings prompted a memorandum in the works to help support student victims of sexual assault and prevent it from happening on their campus as well as Notre Dame and Holy Cross College nearby.
That memorandum was signed Tuesday by the presidents of those institutions, including Father John Jenkins at Notre Dame.
"Sexual violence sexual assault is a serious problem on all college campuses and we are at Notre Dame or trying to address this in the most positive constructive way,” said Jenkins.
Back in 2015, Saint Mary’s College was featured on a CNN documentary focusing on colleges that were mishandling student sexual assaults. At Notre Dame, Father Jenkins says he’s aware of the issue happening on campuses across the U.S. and that this is both a promise to step up their prevention methods and to continue their efforts in supporting all of their students.
"I think there has been cooperation collaboration on prevention and awareness but this will move it to another level. Sexual assault is such a trauma so we have to work hard on it most importantly prevention; reinforce that we take this seriously and then we will work hard at it. Provide the education the awareness so that these assaults don't happen zero is the goal,” said Jenkins.
What was initially a group of 15 people in that task force searching for answers, has now become a movement on all three campuses. But Father Jenkins says it’s all hands on deck if this is going to work.
"The thing about it is that these three campuses obviously are in proximity to one another so it makes sense for them to collaborate." “It’s really, it’s on all of us. It’s on all of us,” said Jenkins.
Click here for more information on that memorandum.