Giving Compass' Take:

• Mark Keierleber discuss the problems of school-related sexual violence and efforts to prevent abuse and support survivors. 

• How can funders work to change attitudes about sexual misconducts in schools? 

• Find out how #MeToo funding builds empathy and justice for survivors. 

Esther Warkov and Joel Levin watched their daughter’s life crumble before their eyes. In 2012, in the middle of her sophomore year at Seattle’s Garfield High School, the young woman left home for an overnight ecology field trip on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. In a cabin near the edge of Olympic National Park, they say, a fellow classmate raped their daughter.

Seattle school officials, the family alleged, failed for months to launch an independent investigation, did not provide services for post-traumatic stress disorder that stemmed from the attack, and launched combative and untruthful tactics to protect their public image.

In light of the growing #MeToo movement that’s spurred an explosion of sexual misconduct allegations against high-profile men in Hollywood and beyond the family is looking to push the issue closer to home for American parents. Charged by their battle against Seattle school officials following their daughter’s alleged attack, Warkov and Levin are launching a new campaign, #MeTooK12, to highlight the prevalence of sexual violence among K-12 students.

For several years, Warkov and Levin have operated a small nonprofit, Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, which offers resources for families in contentious battles with schools following sexual violence and harassment allegations.

Read the full article on #MeTooK12 by Mark Keierleber at The 74.