The Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services and the Office of Gender Equity and Title IX Coordinator sent a FlashLine announcement to students Monday, asking for their participation in a survey about unwanted sexual contact.
The purpose of the survey is for Kent State to use student input to better respond to and prevent sexual and relationship violence. The information will be used to identify where improvement to training, education and support can be made.
“Kent State University is committed to eliminating instances of sexual violence in our community,” the email said.
Students will be asked about their perception of Kent State’s response to sexual misconduct and what training they have received.
The survey is in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Changing Campus Culture Initiative, started in 2015 to receive feedback from campuses and eliminate sexual violence.
Campuses in Ohio are asked to implement a few recommendations to create this environmental change: “Use data to guide action, empower staff, faculty, campus law enforcement and students to prevent and respond to sexual violence though evidence-based training, communicate a culture of shared respect and responsibility, develop a comprehensive response policy and adopt a survivor-centered response.”
Kent State is one of 74 campuses to report details of their implementations of those recommendations during the 2024-2025 school year.
Despite campuses commitment to prevent sexual violence, one in five women and one in 16 men will experience sexual assault during college, according to the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Additionally, rape and sexual violence are the most under-reported crime according to the and over 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report.
The information students provide about the campus climate will be used to improve policies at the university, not to investigate specific individuals.
“Disclosing an incident here does not constitute reporting the incident to your campus and will not result in any action, disciplinary or otherwise,” the survey states. “Please use Kent State’s reporting procedures if you wish to report an incident of sexual misconduct.”
Jennifer O’Connell, director of SRVSS, is the leader of the survey, and students can reach her at [email protected] if they have any questions.
Students can get additional resources or help at the SRVSS website or reach out to them at 330-672-8016 or [email protected]. Students can also find gender/sexual harassment reporting information at the Office of Gender Equity and Title IX website.
Savana Capp is a hard beat reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
