The University of Texas is setting a new standard for handling rape cases that all campuses across the nation should follow.
Researchers and campus police released the Blueprint for Campus Police this past February. In all, it’s a 174-page document developed to address “neurobiology and trauma, rape myths, the role of alcohol and drugs, the college hookup culture, victim-blaming language, forensic interviewing and false reports,” from the perspective of the victim, the Huffington Post reports.
Too many times, when college women and men work up the courage to report their rape to campus police, their cases are not taken seriously, even though rape is the most common violent crime to occur on college campuses. Campus police had deemed a third of rapes on campus to be falsely reported, while new research included in the blueprint states that only two to ten percent of rape allegations are false. Many officers have even bought into some of the common rape myths, leading to cases being mishandled.
This strategy of not blaming the victims will be implemented at all 14 campuses under the University of Texas branch, and the blueprint will be a guide during training for campus officers. The use of science-based information makes the blueprint more objective, which should better help the police force understand the facts behind rape.
Unlike many universities who invest the majority of their money into athletics or infrastructure, the UT system has created this blueprint as part of a $1.7 million investment into combatting sexual assault over the next four years, according to the Huffington Post.
“We must publicly acknowledge our moral obligation to understand sexual assault for the life-altering and destructive experience it is, and be champions of those victimized,” UT System police director Michael Heidingsfield told the Associated Press.
Big kudos to this university system for their efforts to end sexual assault in a world where many people are turning their backs to the problem.