A committee investigating Harvard’s sexual assault policy will release sweeping recommendations today, advocating the creation of an independent office to address sexual assault prevention through more stringent training and education on the issue.

The committee—which was not mandated to address the College’s disciplinary procedure for sexual assault cases—also recommends changes to the way the Administrative Board handles sexual assault complaints, emphasizing the importance of an independent fact finder and training for all members of the Ad Board in handling peer-to-peer disputes.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 charged the committee last May with reevaluating the College’s services and education on sexual assault, on the heels of protests by students over a Faculty vote to require “sufficient independent corroboration” for the Ad Board to hear a peer dispute complaint.

While the dean did not specifically charge the commitee with reevaluating the College’s Ad Board policy, members of the committee said procedure for investigating sexual assault complaints is too intertwined with prevention of sexual assault to overlook it.

The main focus of the report is a new Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, which will centralize treatment services for victims of sexual assault and will provide an expanded preventive education program.

“The office has material and symbolic importance because Harvard is committing resources, paying three staff members and giving it physical space,” said Alexandra Neuhaus-Follini ’04-’06, a member of the Coalition Against Sexual Violence (CASV). “Hopefully it will really translate into people having better experiences, and be part of a larger cultural shift.”

Committee members expressed confidence that many of the recommendations—including a new Freshman Week education program and the creation of the office—would go into effect as early as this fall.

The report’s suggestions were future-looking, placing an overwhelming stress on training, awareness and education. By emphasizing recommendations that would create a more responsive approach to the issue of sexual assault, Committee Chair and Professor of International Health Jennifer Leaning said she hoped, “that five or 10 years from now the community feels very different.”

Prevention and Discipline

Committee members said they felt it necessary to address the Ad Board procedure—breaking the bounds of their mandate—because students they consulted consistently expressed concern over it.

Leaning said she believes the Ad Board members care about the issue, but a lack of time, training and communication with students have hindered its ability to adjudicate sexual assault complaints.

The report recommends the College make more use of a “single fact finder (SFF),” or independent investigator, to search for information on sexual assault complaints.

“Our intent was to make sure that students who claimed that they had been assaulted had certainty that their claim would be investigated,” said Professor of History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn, a committee member.

The committee further suggests specific training for Ad Board members on sexual assault—addressing a long-standing complaint of CASV.

“There was some discussion about training and whether that would bias the board, but if training is about process and procedure to help better adjudicate peer disputes, it’s more than appropriate,” said Jared M. Slade ’03, a committee member.