Throughout the past year we have seen increased attention paid to the epidemic of campus rape and sexual assault. Student activists have worked tirelessly to hold their institution’s accountable to federal laws that combat campus sexual violence and support survivors such as the Jeanne Clery Act and Title IX. Administrations have hired Title IX Coordinators and established task forces to reform institutional sexual assault policies and procedures. And, in March 2013 President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which included the landmark Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act.

Today, the Obama administration reaffirmed their commitment to eliminating campus sexual violence through the publication of a new report entitled Rape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action  and their announcement of a new initiative to combat sexual assault on college campuses: The White House Task Force on Protecting Students from Sexual Assault.

The Task Force will provide schools with best practices for the prevention of sexual violence, improve the transparency of the federal government’s enforcement activities, and facilitate the coordination of federal agencies tasked to hold colleges and universities accountable for combating sexual violence.

The publication of the Renewed Call to Action and the creation of the Task Force give SAFER hope that colleges and universities will continue to be held accountable for preventing campus sexual violence and supporting survivors. We also hope that it adds energy to the already empowered community of student sexual violence prevention activists hard at work on campuses nationwide.