| Sexual harassment and sexual violence are complex social issues and a prevalent problem on college and university campuses. College students are an "at risk" population because of their age, developmental stage, proximity to one another, and their access to social activities influenced by peer pressure, alcohol, and other drugs. In this study, the researcher examined the phenomenon of sexual harassment and sexual violence on college and university campuses in relation to Title IX legislation and guidance through the U. S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights finding letters and the college and university voluntary resolution agreements from 21 cases. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits the discrimination by gender to any educational program or activity. Sexual harassment and sexual violence are considered to be forms of sex discrimination. Applying a pragmatic worldview and interpretive lens, the researcher completed a qualitative document analysis of the case documents, using a framework modeled after Coffey's (2014) work. The researcher completed an inductive coding analysis of the documents to identify patterns related to the nature of sexual harassment and sexual violence, Title IX legislation and OCR guidance, and the complaints, finding of violations, and the resolution strategies outlined in the voluntary agreements. As one of the first qualitative studies of the OCR investigation and resolution documents, the results provide a broad introduction to the existence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the studied cases, the role of Title IX and its influence and impact on college campuses, and the strategies identified to respond to the identified violations and initiatives put in place to prevent and respond to future occurrences. |
