Assault Services Reviewed

A new University-wide committee will review and make recommendations about the University’s support services for victims of sexual assault and its preventive education program, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 announced at yesterday’s Faculty meeting.

The announcement comes as a result of a movement by Coalition Against Sexual Violence (CASV) members to urge the Faculty to reconsider its policy requiring corroborating evidence before the Administrative Board investigates peer disputes, including allegations of sexual assault.

Lewis met privately with CASV members after the Faculty meeting to explain the purpose of the committee, which will be chaired by Dr. Jennifer Leaning ’68, a professor of international health at the School of Public Health (HSPH).

But CASV members who attended the private meeting said the committee’s formation is not a sufficient remedy to a policy they claim creates a hostile campus environment for victims of sexual violence by effectively decreasing the number of sexual assault cases the Ad Board will hear.

“The creation of this committee in no way makes up for the fact that Harvard has done a huge, horrible wrong to its students through this [Ad Board] change,” said Sarah B. Levit-Shore ’04, a CASV member. “That is not going to get lost in the shuffle.”

Levit-Shore said she was disappointed that the Faculty did not discuss the Ad Board amendment directly at yesterday’s meeting.

As Faculty members entered University Hall, where the meeting was held, CASV members distributed to them leaflets elaborating the deficiencies of the new policy.

CASV member Matthew E. Kutcher ’02 said he is afraid the formation of the committee will be a substitute for an in-depth examination of the new Ad Board policy.

“I feel personally let down that the formation of this committee was used... as a bargaining chip to avoid talking about the problem at hand, which is the Ad Board policy,” Kutcher said.

But Professor of the History of Science Katharine Park, who called last week for the creation of a task force to examine Harvard’s sexual assault policy, said that while the committee will probably focus primarily on resources for sexual assault victims and preventive education, she expects it will eventually look at every aspect of Harvard’s sexual assault policy, including Ad Board procedure.

“I have considerable doubts about the Ad Board policy but I’m very much on board with the idea that it shouldn’t have been looked at in isolation to begin with and it shouldn’t be looked at in isolation now,” Park said.

In addition to their concern that the committee will not change Ad Board policy, CASV members also took issue with the committee’s proposed composition.

The committee will include two students—one from CASV or Response and one student selected by Lewis—and an undetermined number of Faculty members, according to Park.

Kutcher said he was disappointed that only two students would be on the committee.

“This continues in a deeply problematic trend, which is that decisions are made about policy with student involvement that is severely limited from the outset,” Kutcher said.

CASV member Lisa C. Lightbody ’03 cited the Ellison committee—which originally recommended that the Ad Board require corroborating evidence at the outset of a sexual assault investigation—as a previous example of insufficient student involvement in College policy formation.

Kutcher said he would like to see five students on the committee, including a representative chosen by the Undergraduate Council.

Yet despite these concerns, CASV members said they look forward to working with the committee’s chair.

Leaning studies problems of international human rights and humanitarian law, humanitarian crises and medical ethics in disasters and emergencies at HSPH. She is also an attending physician in the emergency medical department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Park said Leaning was chosen as chair because of her work in international health, especially involving women and violence.

“She’s got a lot of understanding of how you deal with difficult and painful and contentious issues,” Park said.

Kutcher said Leaning told CASV members at the meeting that she wants the committee to try to define what constitutes sexual assault.

“There are laws that describe what sexual assault is,” Kutcher said. “If you’re concerned with preventing sexual assault... in no sense would it be appropriate to solicit people’s opinions on a consensus definition.”

Lightbody said she is disappointed that more experts in the field of sexual assault prevention will not serve on the committee.

“We’re confused as to why they don’t necessarily want only experts or the most trained in this field on the committee,” Lightbody said. “It seemed like they were focusing on [Faculty] members who weren’t interested in this topic or trained in it.”

But Park said the committee may include members of University Health Services and the Bureau of Study Council.

Levit-Shore said the committee’s recommendations will not be legitimate unless its members do not consult with local organizations like the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and Jane Doe.

“If the committee doesn’t use these valuable resources that are in the area, that will cast a shadow over the committee’s findings,” Levit-Shore said.

Lightbody said CASV members will meet tomorrow to decide how to approach the committee.

“I have strong hope that [it] will do the right thing and will really make a significant increase in education and services and will extend their mandate to the Ad Board,” Levit-Shore said. “But Coalition is not going anywhere.”

—Staff writer Anne K. Kofol can be reached at kofol@fas.harvard.edu.