Sexual Violence Symposium to be held at Newcomb Institute
In keeping with its mission to educate undergraduates for gender equity, Newcomb Institute will host a symposium on sexual violence on Friday, Feb. 7.
The daylong symposium will feature presentations by leading researchers and experts, including historians, lawyers and psychologists from universities around the country.
“Newcomb Institute is excited to bring leading experts to campus to present the latest research on sexual violence, and to foster interdisciplinary conversation on this complex topic," said Sally J. Kenney, executive director of the Newcomb Institute.
"We look forward to engaging the broader Tulane community in seeking solutions to this critical issue [of sexual violence].”
Sally J. Kenney
"We'll cover everything from the history and politics of rape to gender and race discrimination in criminal law doctrine," Kenney said. "We look forward to engaging the broader Tulane community in seeking solutions to this critical issue.”
In response to Tulane’s 2017 Wave of Change Climate Survey, 41% of undergraduate women and 18% of undergraduate men reported having experienced sexual assault since enrolling at Tulane. While steps have been taken to address these alarming numbers, more remains to be done, as evidenced by recent reports of violence on and off campus.
“Sexual assault is a major issue not only on Tulane’s campus, but on college campuses nationwide,” said Laura Wolford, director of the Newcomb Research Center at Newcomb Institute.
“College-age women are three times more likely to be sexually assaulted, and 21% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students nationwide are sexually assaulted,” Wolford said, citing statistics by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network.
Symposium speakers will include Donna Coker, Professor of Law and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar at the University of Miami School of Law; Ray Douglass, professor of history at Colgate University; Crystal Feimster, associate professor of African American studies, history and American studies at Yale; Donna Freitas, author and research associate at the Center for Religion and Society at Notre Dame; Jennifer Freyd, professor of psychology at the University of Oregon; Catherine Jacquet, assistant professor of history and women’s and gender studies at LSU; and Mary Koss, Regents’ Professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.
Interviews and panel discussions will be led by Tulane faculty, including Kenney, who is also the Newcomb College Endowed Chair; Jennifer Hunt, assistant director of The Well; Meredith Smith, assistant provost for Title IX and Clery Compliance; Celeste Lay, associate professor; Rosanne Adderley, associate professor of history; and Izabela Steflja, professor of practice in political science.
The symposium will take place Feb. 7 in Newcomb Institute's Diboll Gallery on the third floor of the Commons, from 8 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. To see the full schedule and speaker bios, click here.
