Breaking The Silence: Sexual Assault in Christian Higher Education

Elizabeth Berns

BIO: I am from Billings, MT. I am the president of two clubs at Whitworth, which are Psi Chi/Psychology Club and Generation Action, and have been previously engaged with them since my time at Whitworth. I am a research assistant for the WSU Sleep Lab and the Behavioral Neurosciences Lab at Whitworth, which I have greatly appreciated and enjoyed. My current plan for after graduation is taking a gap year to be with family, and after that I am looking to get into a PhD program for behavioral neuroscience. I am also looking into doing activism work in Montana, specifically with resources for violence towards women. I am so inspired by my work on this project that I would love to continue this conversation. 

MAJOR: Psychology

Minors: Neurology, Sociology, Communication & Culture

Project Overview: My research is specifically looking at Whitworth and how they treat sexual violence on campus. I looked into what resources and programs there are for sexual violence survivors on this campus or any education about what sexual violence is for the rest of the student body. What I found was scarce, not only the research around Christian colleges and sexual assault, but also the resources on this campus for students. Shown through our criminal statistics that are mandated by law, Whitworth has seen zero criminal cases in the last few years of sexual assault, rape, etc.,  which seems shocking and unusual after what little statistics there are on this topic. That being said, my goal was to give recommendations to Whitworth to better serve their population of all students (not just women but also men, LBGTQIA+ students, and students of color) who have to go through one of the most traumatizing things that anyone has to go through in their adult life. That includes adding an advocacy coordinator, sex education, another Title IX coordinator, etc These recommendations are rooted within research and looking at other universities that are the same size, religious affiliation, area, and liberal arts education. Whitworth is not immune to these criminal acts just because they are rooted in Christian faith, and they need to be better for students and their academic success on this campus.