Can we trust you?

For years, it was my job to respond to reports of campus sexual assault. That experience is why one suggestion making the rounds this week gave me pause: Expose the colleges with the most reported sexual assaults, as a warning to prospective students.*

I understand the impulse, but it's missing the mark. A relatively high number of reports isn't the same as a high number of actual incidents. It feels counterintuitive, but more reports can be a sign that a campus is doing something right. Sexual violence happens on every campus. Where reports run higher, it can mean that students 1) Trust that reporting is safe for them to do, and 2) Believe their institution will actually do something about it. Where reports are low, it can mean the opposite.

This isn't just a campus or a student problem. The EEOC's 2016 task force on workplace harassment found that roughly three in four people who experienced harassment at work never told a supervisor or manager.

Think about it – when was the last time you were treated in a way at work that wasn't okay, and you decided that speaking up just wasn't worth it? Maybe you worried about being labeled as "difficult" or sensed risk of some other reputational harm, or maybe you just didn't trust anything would change.

The systemic conditions that deter a student from reporting mirror those that keep an employee from speaking up.

So whether you lead a campus, a company, or a team: Just because no one's "complaining" doesn't necessarily mean nothing's wrong. It may mean people don't trust the environment enough to tell you.

Trust isn't something you can declare or demand. It's earned every time someone speaks up, feels they were treated with respect, and sees that something actually changed.

Ultimately, the question ISN'T "how few reports do we have?"

--> INSTEAD, it's "would people feel safe telling us if something happened, and would (should?) they trust us to do something about it?"


* Under the Clery Act (1990), institutions publish an Annual Security Report each year by October 1, so the newest numbers just came out. If you're a prospective student or parent (or anyone interested in accountability and positive change), don't stop at looking at the number of reports. Ask about whether the school conducts campus climate surveys, whether it publishes results, and what students say about whether they feel safe reporting.