Survivors Across California Make Their Voices Heard Through New Student-led Research Project
By Sara Wilf, CSW|Streisand Center Faculty Research Associate and Survivors + Allies Member
Survivors + Allies, a student organization based at UCLA, has launched a new, IRB-approved, anonymous research study to better understand and improve support for survivors of sexual violence across California’s colleges and universities. This community-engaged study is led by survivors and students across several UC and CSU campuses. All California undergraduate, graduate, and continuing students can participate in the study, with the goal of collecting data that will directly inform policy change at both institutional and state levels.
Survivors + Allies was founded in 2020 and is composed of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to advocating for, and with, survivors of sexual violence. In response to a lack of feedback options for survivors who used university resources like the Title IX office, in 2021 Survivors + Allies conducted the first-ever UC-wide survey of over 1,300 students to assess survivors’ experiences with campus resources.
The 2021 study results showed that many students were not aware of which resources were confidential, while others described retraumatizing encounters with Title IX offices or campus police. Confidential services like campus therapy and CARE offices were often cited as the most helpful resources, although survivors noted that these resources were underfunded. Importantly, the 2021 study found that students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and international students faced especially high barriers to accessing resources that adequately served their unique identities and healing journeys.
Based on requests from policymakers and university administrators for more timely and in-depth data, this new 2025 research study expands upon Survivors + Allies’ previous study. It includes students from any college or university across California, with the aim of providing policymakers and other key stakeholders with up-to-date information and narratives about survivors’ experiences at their institutions.
The current study will examine all student’s awareness of and access to resources, as well as survivors’ diverse pathways to healing, what support systems work best, and barriers faced by survivors holding multiple intersecting underrepresented identities. Students can participate by taking a 15–20 minute anonymous survey, open to all college students in California. For those who identify as survivors, there is also an opportunity to opt in for a one-on-one interview to share their experiences more deeply.
Over the summer, the Survivors + Allies research team will analyze the survey and interview data. They will compile the findings into a publicly available report that reflects the experiences and insights shared by students. The report will be shared through a public webinar and distributed to UC and CSU administrators, Title IX offices, survivor advocacy organizations, and California policymakers. Through the report, webinar, and in meetings with policymakers and university administrators, Survivors + Allies will continue to advocate for increased funding for confidential, survivor-centered resources and for additional resources for survivors holding underrepresented identities.
Students can participate in the study by taking the anonymous survey here: https://cpp.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cHlmmjWzMAFDKGW.
Survey participants are also entered into a raffle to win a free Owala water bottle (1 in 50 chance of winning). Participation in the study is not required to participate in the raffle.
“Too often, survivor and community voices are left out of the decision-making conversations that directly impact their healing. But this research is a powerful opportunity to center the lived experiences of students across California and push for the survivor-centered, identity-affirming policies and resources that our campuses urgently need.”
Survivors + Allies’ member, Kalani Phillips
All California students, whether or not they identify as survivors, are encouraged to take the survey and share it widely. For more information or to get involved, email uclasurvivorsandallies@gmail.com.
Your voice matters. Let’s create safer and more supportive college campuses in California for survivors of sexual violence together.
