Sexual Violence Culture and Climate Work Group holds first meeting

Virginia Tech President Tim Sands has charged the new Sexual Violence Culture and Climate Work Group with developing a framework for sustainable climate and cultural transformation on the university campus.

During the group’s first meeting held Friday, Sands emphasized the importance of establishing sexual violence prevention as a shared responsibility, one that is embraced by the entire university.

He noted the need to understand the scope and effectiveness of existing programs and activities in order to determine what additional work and resources are needed to support and engage the greater campus community.  This includes addressing all the opportunities identified by the university’s 2019 End Sexual Violence Task Force.

The work group was also asked to consider opportunities to enhance campus communication beyond existing legal, federal, and state requirements and embrace a culture of increased transparency.

The group’s initial focus is undergraduate students who can be reached through targeted education and prevention efforts during their orientation activities. Sands’ charge also noted that programs and services for graduate students and employees will be addressed in the near future, in order to actively engage the greater campus community in the shared goal to improve campus climate and culture around sexual violence prevention.