Last year, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation hosted a timely and provocative program on violence against women on college campuses that compelled a long-overdue look at sexual violence against women.

On Tuesday, March 13, the foundation and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE) will host Violence Against Women on College Campuses Update 2018. The morning program will present the latest information on campus violence and take a look back at what has happened in the last year.

Among the topics to be addressed are: What have colleges and universities done to help prevent assault in the last 12 months and has it been working? What effect has the current presidential administration had on sexual assault prevention? Has the #MeToo movement had an effect on preventing assault on college campuses? And, what can the public do to help prevent college sexual assault?

“We are consistently reiterating the point that campuses in and of themselves cannot be responsible for preventing and addressing sexual violence,” said Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault and one of the speakers at Tuesday's event. “Campuses are microcosms of our larger society.”

She stressed the need for colleges and universities to have meaningful, collaborative relationships with their county rape crisis centers, which are often better equipped to implement evidence-informed expertise on sexual violence prevention and response.

Tuesday's event will also take a look at how statistics have changed in the last year, but Teffenhart noted that statistics don't always tell the whole story. For example, higher numbers don't necessarily mean an increase in assaults, she said. Rising numbers could signal a positive change in the climate that has led victims to feel more comfortable coming forward.

Foundation President Lynne Fontaine Newsome will give introductory remarks, and the morning's moderator will be Raymond M. Brown of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis. Other panelists include: Passaic County Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed; Montclair State University Associate Counsel Maria C. Anderson; YWCA Bergen County CEO Helen Archontou; Manhattan College General Counsel Tamara J. Britt; and Philip A. Byler of Nesenoff & Miltenberg.

Registration is free for non-attorneys, educators, law students and full-time judges. Professional credits are available for attorneys and educators. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/NJSBFUpdate or call NJICLE at 732-214-8500.