Faculty and Staff Perceptions of Mandatory Reporting Policies and Title IX: A National Perspective

ABSTRACT

Many post-secondary institutions have implemented mandatory reporting (MR) requiring employees to report knowledge of sexual misconduct. Understanding employee perceptions (e.g., benefits/drawbacks) and experiences (e.g., reporting disclosure) is important given this responsibility. Accordingly, this study analyzes responses from a recent survey that polled faculty and staff concerning MR (N = 125). Findings indicate that most employees fall under a MR policy, are aware of their obligations, and will comply with them. While majority approval was evident for MR, employees also identified drawbacks (e.g., reduced victim autonomy). One in five employees in this sample have made a report. Additional perceptions, experiences, and attitudes toward MR varied, based on institutional-level factors and socio-demographic characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

• Campus crime
• Title IX
• faculty and staff
• sexual victimization
• policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA).

Notes on contributors

Christina Mancini

Christina Mancini, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. She received her doctoral degree from Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2009. Dr. Mancini has published over forty articles in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, Criminology, Crime & Delinquency, the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, and other crime and policy journals. Her current research examines sex offender policy, public opinion, race and perceptions about offending, and violent victimization. She is the author of two books Sex Crime, Offenders, and Society: A Critical Look at Sexual Offending and Policy, 2nd ed. (2021, Carolina Academic Press) and Campus Crime and Safety, 2nd ed. (2022, Kendall Hunt).

Sarah Koon-Magnin

Sarah Koon-Magnin, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science & Criminal Justice at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. Her research and teaching interests currently revolve around social and legal responses to sexual violence. Dr. Koon-Magnin has published peer-reviewed journal articles in such reputable journals as the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Violence Against Women, Violence & Victims, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Sex Roles. Her first book, which she coauthored along with Drs. Corina Schulze and Valerie Bryan, was titled Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Sexual Assault: Challenging the Myths. Her second book, forthcoming in 2022, is titled, “Sexual Assault and Harassment in America: Examining the Facts. Dr. Koon-Magnin has developed an upper-level criminal justice elective called Sexual Violence and offered a course on Victimology. She has also served the University as a member of the HEART Project and the Violence Prevention Alliance and helped to train incoming rape crisis advocates at Lifelines Counseling Services.