Participation in the Sexual Respect Initiative is required for all new students.
September 26, 2022 - November 4, 2022
The Sexual Respect Initiative — an important part of Columbia’s Community Citizenship Initiative — asks each of us to promote a campus culture that upholds sexual respect and unequivocally rejects sexual harassment, sexual assault and other forms of gender-based misconduct or violence.
This Initiative offers you a variety of compelling and thought-provoking workshops, award-winning films, digital projects and online resources to engage with, plus the option to complete an independent project. And because the Sexual Respect Initiative is all about empowering students to get help when and where they need it, you’ll also learn about the wide range of support services Columbia offers, as well as concrete steps you can take to combat misconduct in any setting.
Getting started is easy; just choose one (or more) of the options below.
How to Participate: Choose One of the Options Below
All students new to a Columbia degree program are required to participate, and everyone else is strongly encouraged!
If you are not required but would still like to participate in the Initiative please contact us at [email protected].
Gain the tools to maintain healthy relationships, understand consent and bystander intervention and help people who have experienced sexual violence.
Learn about consent, bystander intervention, and gender and sex.
These acclaimed feature-length films will help you think critically about the links between gender stereotyping, harassment and violence and barriers to overcoming violence.
Choose from books, online resources or workshops for survivors facilitated by Counseling and Psychological Services. These resources include many personal stories and reflections about child sexual abuse, anti-gay violence and PTSD, as well as mindfulness and skills for healing and recovery.
Complete a 35-minute online tutorial that reviews many of the policies and themes discussed in the Sexual Assault Prevention tutorial you completed before the start of the semester. The tutorial also provides information about New York state law.
Choose a project that aligns with your interests or professional development goals. You can work individually or with a small group.
Goals
Our overarching goal is to prevent sexual violence within our community and to share University resources and expections with students on this critical topic. We aim to achieve this by:
- Sharing knowledge about key concepts related to sexual respect, such as:
- Affirmative consent
- Healthy versus problematic behaviors
- Bystander intervention strategies
- The connections between gender stereotypes, harassment and violence
- Increasing awareness and use of University resources related to sexual respect.
- Dispelling myths about sexual violence in order to create a more inclusive community.
- Empowering students to work towards the elimination of all risks for sexual violence at Columbia and in the broader society.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Sexual respect is the commitment to communicating and acting in interpersonal relationships with integrity and respect for others, and to each of us doing what we can to create an environment where sexual and gender-based misconduct are not tolerated.
In addition, it is an initiative to promote a campus culture that upholds sexual respect and unequivocally rejects sexual harassment, sexual assault and other forms of gender-based misconduct or violence.
The Sexual Respect Initiative provides every student with a focused invitation during the academic year to learn about issues that can profoundly shape academic and student life, and to impact campus climate.
Students, faculty and administrators at Columbia — including many experts in public health, gender and sexuality studies, sociology and social work — developed the Sexual Respect Initiative in collaboration with leadership from University Life.
Our overarching goal is to prevent sexual violence within our community and to share University resources and expections with students on this critical topic. We aim to achieve this by:
- Sharing knowledge about key concepts related to sexual respect, such as:
- Affirmative consent
- Healthy versus problematic behaviors
- Bystander intervention strategies
- The connections between gender stereotypes, harassment and violence
- Increasing awareness and use of University resources related to sexual respect.
- Dispelling myths about sexual violence in order to create a more inclusive community.
- Empowering students to work towards the elimination of all risks for sexual violence at Columbia and in the broader society.
The pre-orientation tutorials provide an introduction to policies, values and resources at the University and to the five steps of bystander intervention (Step Up!). The Sexual Respect Initiative invites students to join in conversation with classmates to examine the link between sexual respect and membership in the University community. You can choose the option and the topic that appeals to you most, or design your own Independent Project.
All Columbia students are strongly encouraged to participate. All students who are new to any degree program at Columbia are required to complete at least one of several options available. The participation deadline is early November. Student leaders and athletes who completed the Sexual Respect for Student-Athletes and Student Leaders training this fall have met their requirement — you do not also need to complete the Initiative. If you have any questions, write to the Sexual Respect team at [email protected].
Read how to participate here. You can participate in as many workshops, online video collections, online documentaries with Q&A, and independent projects as you’d like. But, you are only required to participate in one. There is also an online tutorial especially for graduate students, and resources for healing and resilience (offered especially for survivors as recommended by our partners at Sexual Violence Response).
Confirm your participation by checking in at the workshop or film screening you selected, or through Courseworks. Please see details here.
You are encouraged to participate at any point during your enrollment in the University, even if the requirement has already been met. Please proceed to the option of your choice and see instructions for how to share your feedback there.
If you have personal concerns about completing the Initiative, please contact us at [email protected]. While we do not have an opt-out, we can see how you can best satisfy this requirement. You do not need to explain and will not be asked for details about your experience.
Disability Services can provide accommodations for registered students to attend workshops and the other participation options. If you require disability accommodations, please contact Disability Services at [email protected] in advance of the event. Please allow at least five days to arrange for sign language interpreters or CART services.
You can become a University Life Ambassador. Apply here.
Students, faculty and administrators at Columbia — including many experts in public health, gender and sexuality studies, sociology, and social work — developed the Initiative with leadership from University Life. University Life reviews student feedback and evaluations from the Initiative each year to refine content offerings and improve the Initiative.
Barnard offers its own programming on this topic.
Write to [email protected] with questions about the Initiative, technical issues or problems with CourseWorks.
The other half of the Community Citizenship Initiative is the Inclusion & Belonging Initiative.