Much of my research has examined how universities interpret Title IX in the implementation of sexual assault/harassment policies, reporting procedures, and resources, and how these decisions affect survivors. In this line of work, I use multiple methodological approaches to gain a more comprehensive understanding of survivors’ engagement with policies and formal support systems on campus (e.g., reporting options, resources) and the efficacy of those policies and systems. An area of expertise within this line of work are mandatory reporting policies for sexual assault, which require certain employees to report any sexual assault they learn about to university officials, regardless of the survivor’s desire to report (i.e., "compelled disclosure"). Through guidance and rulemaking on Title IX, the Department of Education has long required institutions to designate some employees as mandatory reporters (see U.S. Department of Education, 2001; 2014; 2020) and my research has found that most institutions designate all or nearly all of their employees as mandatory reporters (Holland et al., 2018). It is assumed that such broad policies will benefit survivors, employees, and the campus community, but these assumptions have no emperical basis. It is my goal to use existing empercial evidence (e.g., on trauma-informed responses to sexual assault disclosures) and gather additional evidence to help scholars and policy makers advocate for evidence-based and survivor-centered policies.
My publications on this topic include:
*Cipriano, A. E., Holland, K. J., *O'Callaghan, E. & *Rieger, A. (2022). “I had no power whatsoever”: Graduate students’ experiences disclosing sexual harassment to mandatory reporters. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12336
Holland, K. J., Hutchison, E. Q., Ahrens, C. E., & Torres, M. G. (2021) Reporting is Not Supporting: Why the Principle of Mandatory Supporting, not Mandatory Reporting, Must Guide Sexual Misconduct Policies in Higher Education. Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, 118(52), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2116515118 j
Holland, K. J. *Cipriano, A. E., Goodman-Williams, R., & *Diede, A. S. (2021). Examining support for university-to-police reporting policies for sexual assault: The role of survivors’ consent. American Journal of Community Psychology, 68, 440-454. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12533
Holland, K. J., *Cipriano, A. E., & *Huit, T. Z. (2020). “A victim/survivor needs agency”: Sexual assault survivors’ perceptions of mandatory reporting policies in institutions of higher education. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 21(1), 488-508. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12226
Holland, K. J., *Cipriano, A. E. & *Huit, T. Z. (2020). “The fear is palpable”: Service providers’ perceptions of sexual assault mandatory reporting policies in higher education. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 20(1), 66-89. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12193
Holland, K. J. (2019). Examining responsible employees’ perceptions of their sexual assault reporting requirements under federal and institutional policy. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 19(1), 133-149. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12176
Holland, K. J., Cortina, L. M., & Freyd, J. J. (2018). Compelled disclosure of college sexual assault. American Psychologist,73(3), 256-268. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000186
Holland, K. J., Cortina, L. M., & Freyd, J. J. (2018). Advocating alternatives to mandatory reporting for college sexual assault: Reply to Newins (2018). American Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000415
Talks I have given on this topic include:
Holland, K. J. (2022, June). 50th Anniversary of Title IX Roundtable on Ensuring Safety and Opportunity in STEM Environments: Preventing and Addressing Identity-based Harassment Panel hosted by the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, White House Gender Policy Council, U.S. Department of Education, and Committee on STEM Education.
Holland, K. J. (2021, August) Compelled Disclosure of Sexual Assault in Higher Education. Panel hosted by International Summit on Violence, Abuse and Trauma Across the Lifespan.
Holland, K. J. (2020, October) Finding Common Cause: Centering Survivors in Reporting Policies. Panel hosted by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Public Summit on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education.
Holland, K. J. (2020, September) Giving Voice and Choice to Survivors in Title IX Reporting Policies. Panel hosted by University of New Mexico webinar.
Holland, K. J. (2020, July 21) Planned Parenthood Public Panel on Title IX and Sexual Assault on College Campuses. Panel hosted by Planned Parenthood, Lincoln, NE.
Holland, K. J. (2020, March) Compelled Disclosure of College Sexual Assault. Invited distinguished publication award address at the Association for Women in Psychology Conference, Austin, TX.
Holland, K. J. (2019, November) Compelled Disclosure of Sexual Assault in Higher Education. Keynote speaker for the Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas (PERK) conference, Baker University.
Holland, K. J. (2018, May) Challenging Mandatory Reporting in Higher Education. The Michigan Meetings 2018: Ending Gender‐Based Violence, University of Michigan.
Holland, K. J. (2018, February). Webinar Panel on Campus Sexual Violence. Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA).
In collaboration with my colleagues, Dr. Courtney Ahrens and Dr. Elizabeth Hutchison, and my gradaute students, Becca Howard and Allison Cipriano, I helped organize the Academic Alliance for Survivor Choice in Reporting Policies (ASC). ASC includes a group of academics, advocates, and allies, who work to raise awareness about research on compelled disclosure and advocate for trauma-informed, survivor-centered reporting policies in higher education. For instance, see the ASC public comment on mandatory reporting submitted to the US Department of Education in response to proposed Title IX regulations released June 2023.
Email me at kholland4@unl.edu if you have policy-related questions (e.g., navigating the policy on your campus), want to get involved in these research or public awareness efforts, or want to schedule me to give a talk on this topic.