Why is ending gender-based violence and discrimination important?

As many as 1 in 4 women, 1 in 16 men, and 1 in 4 trans-identified individuals are sexually assaulted during their time in college. The University of Iowa is dedicated to eliminating gender-based violence and discrimination on campus, and we believe this can be accomplished, in part, by addressing how we collectively think about gender-based violence and discrimination. In essence, understanding and examining the cultural context in which gender-based violence and discrimination is trivialized, tolerated, and normalized is key in prevention education efforts and programming to address this issue. Specifically, prevention education efforts and programming provide opportunities to uncover the many ways violent culture on campus persists and is reinforced through our interactions. Commonly referred to as rape culture, or the practices, attitudes, and norms that excuse gender-based violence and discrimination, manifests in myriad ways including victim-blaming statements, trivializing violence against marginalized groups, lack of bystander intervention, and sexual objection.

Campus Education Subcommittee (CES)

The University of Iowa Anti-Violence Coalition (AVC) is a multidisciplinary team, facilitated by the Title IX Gender Equity unit, in the Office of Institutional Equity, that works to ensure a coordinated community response to prevention and intervention of sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. The Campus Education Subcommittee (CES) was created in 2011 as a subcommittee of the Coalition. It is comprised of members representing violence prevention educators across campus.

The Campus Education Subcommittee (CES) works collaboratively to address this larger systemic problem by providing the campus community with language to contextualize the problem of gender-based violence and discrimination, the knowledge of sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence, and stalking policies, and the tools to think critically about solutions to the issue.

The work conducted by CES ensures that survivors are supported, perpetrators are held accountable, and that allies of all genders are included in the process. 

CES Mission

The Campus Education Subcommittee engages in multidisciplinary collaboration to advance comprehensive, evidence-informed prevention education strategies to end gender-based violence and discrimination in the campus community.

CES Membership

See updated list of CES Membership 

Violence Prevention Team

The University of Iowa has three full-time violence prevention education specialists, housed in the Women's Resource & Action Center and RVAP, who develop curriculum, facilitate workshops, and train peer leaders to provide workshops on bystander intervention, consent, and healthy relationships. Student Wellness is a key partner in prevention, as coordinator of the mandated online education program for incoming students as well as being the principle driver of alcohol harm reduction initiatives and sexual health programming.  

For information about policy workshops contact the Title IX Gender Equity unit of the Office of Institutional Equity. Contact the Department of Public Safety for information about current self defense offerings. 

Other partners in prevention education can be identified by their participation and commitment to the Campus Education Subcommittee.