The just prevention theory for policymaking on campus sexual assault

Campus sexual assault affects a large proportion of college students in the United States, most of whom are women. There is little research on the federal complaint mechanism from the standpoint of survivors accessing it, or on whether existing justice mechanisms meet survivors’ needs. This qualitative study asks how survivors define justice, and how policy might help survivors achieve justice. To answer these questions, qualitative data were collected and analyzed through interviews with survivors and campus administrators, and focus groups with survivor advocates. These data are analyzed within the context of an ecological framework and produce the just prevention theory for policymaking on campus sexual assault. The just prevention theory argues that genuine justice for survivors must be pursued through a framework of prevention. This theory reconceives justice in a fundamental way: while justice may include other response measures, it must include prevention.