Women and Femme Student of Color Survivors’ Perceptions of Accountability and Institutional Responses to Dating Violence

Abstract: This qualitative study centers on the perspectives of undergraduate student survivors of dating violence regarding accountability and institutional reporting processes. Participants included 35 women and femme students of color who had experienced dating violence in college and attended one of three large public institutions. Each student participated in two virtual interviews and a photo-elicitation method grounded in healing. The conceptual framework employed was rooted in intersectionality and abolition feminism. Perceptions of existing reporting options were largely negative because students 1) felt existing reporting options required them to relive traumatic experiences; 2) perceived that Title IX processes did not serve survivors; 3) did not want to engage with police whom they viewed as harmful; and 4) thought that there were many structural challenges to reporting. Perspectives of participants on accountability were complex and varied: students shared about not equating punishment with accountability, not desiring punishment, feeling rehabilitation was more important than punishment, wishing for accountability from their former partners, and wanting those that harmed others removed from campus spaces. Findings demonstrate the need for innovative practices to address violence in higher education adequately.