NASPA Online Learning Community

Culture of Respect Webinar: "What Do You Want Us to Do About It?" Graduate Students' Experiences With Sexual Harassment

Culture of Respect Webinar: "What Do You Want Us to Do About It?" Graduate Students' Experiences With Sexual Harassment

Includes a Live Web Event on 01/24/2025 at 12:00 PM (EST)

Jessica Henault

Program Coordinator, Culture of Respect

NASPA

Jessica Henault, MS (she/her) serves as NASPA’s program coordinator for the Culture of Respect Collective. Prior to joining NASPA, Jessica served as Kansas State University’s first violence prevention specialist, where she worked to develop and employ a university-wide violence prevention plan. Jessica is passionate about improving college campuses’ safety and well-being, earning her master’s degree in Counseling and Student Development with an emphasis in Administration. She is a current doctoral student in the Applied Family Science program at Kansas State, centering her research on prevention sciences.

National data consistently shows that graduate and professional students face higher rates of sexual harassment and have lower awareness of on-campus resources. This webinar will present key findings from a 2021 sexual assault climate survey conducted at a large public research institution in the Midwest, focusing specifically on graduate and professional students, who comprised 19.6% of the total sample. Findings reveal that 39% of graduate and professional students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual harassment by a university employee since enrolling, with 45% identifying a faculty member as the perpetrator. Examining data on graduate and professional student survivors’ experiences and challenges within the campus environment offers critical insights for student affairs professionals to enhance prevention, advocacy, and response efforts.

Learning Outcomes:

  1. Understand the prevalence and impact of sexual harassment among graduate and professional students, including specific risks posed by university employees.
  2. Identify key barriers faced by graduate and professional student survivors in accessing on-campus resources and support.
  3. Develop evidence-based strategies to improve prevention, advocacy, and response efforts for graduate and professional student survivors within campus environments.
Components visible upon registration.