516 - Thematic Session. Fighting Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault on Campus: Then and Now (co-sponsored with the Committee on the Status of Women)

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Abstract

Sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus were formally prohibited by TITLE IX in 1972, but the struggle over enforcement continues. While activism in the 1970s and 80s gained procedures and changed consciousness, activism has resurged in 2014, creating a watershed moment in the awareness of sexual violence on campus. Young women’s grassroots leadership brought a surge of complaints and the Obama Administration reacted with increased scrutiny of the nation’s largest research universities. Members of our panel will represent different perspectives on this movement: Andrea Press will present research on campus cultures of feminism, post-feminism, and sexual violence. Danielle Dirks will discuss the ties between research and public sociology; Sofie Karasek will share her experience as an activist in anti-sexual-violence campus and national campaigns.

Sub Unit

• Thematic Sessions

Session Organizers

• Linda M. Blum, Northeastern University

• Alexandra Kalev, Tel Aviv University

Presider

• Linda M. Blum, Northeastern University

Individual Presentations

• Sex, Harassment, and Third-Wave Feminism: Legislating the Intimate - Andrea Press, University of Virginia

• The Rise of Networked Anti-Sexual Violence Student Activism - Sofie Karasek, End Rape on Campus

• Confronting Campus Rape: Research and Public Sociology - Danielle Dirks, Occidental College