Bring Me Courage: Empowering Student Voices to Reduce Sexual Assault and Harassment Reporting Barriers and Influence Culture

Abstract

Sexual assault and harassment on college campus, particularly military service academies, is a complex problem requiring student-led culture change. Efforts of the top-down campus administrator to change culture will be ineffective without student buy-in and input. Listening to student voices is necessary to identify barriers and paths to enable behaviors on the peripherals that reinforce desired culture traits. This article highlights a student-led effort at the U.S. Air Force Academy to reduce reporting barriers by disincentivizing peer pressure to remain silent in the face of harassment, bullying, hazing, or assault.