NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Helena Moreno today convened leaders from colleges and universities across Greater New Orleans for a Campus Summit on Sexual Violence at Gallier Hall, calling for a coordinated effort to strengthen student protections, improve responses to sexual assault, and establish greater accountability across local campuses.
Sexual assault and the treatment of survivors remain major concerns for universities both nationally and locally. Recent allegations involving Cornell University have brought renewed national attention to campus sexual violence, institutional accountability, and how universities respond when students report assaults. Sexual assault prevention and survivor protections are also important issues for local universities, underscoring the need for greater collaboration and consistent standards across institutions.
As part of the initiative, Mayor Moreno urged participating colleges and universities to:
- Conduct campus listening sessions: One open to the broader campus community and another involving student, faculty, and staff leaders engaged in sexual violence prevention and response.
- Review existing policies and procedures: Evaluate prevention education, Title IX reporting, criminal investigations, and survivor support services.
- Submit institutional reports: Provide the Mayor’s Office with an overview of existing programs, sexual misconduct reports and outcomes from 2020 through 2025, findings from listening sessions, and proposed improvements.
- Strengthen prevention efforts: Expand education beyond freshman orientation, including bystander intervention, healthy relationships, and sexual assault prevention throughout students’ college years.
- Improve coordination: Work with the City and other institutions toward shared minimum standards and best practices for sexual assault prevention and response.
The summit brought together representatives from local universities and leaders from the New Orleans Police Department, the City’s Department of Health and Human Services, and the Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy. The Moreno administration will work with participating institutions to strengthen prevention, improve access to survivor services, and ensure effective responses to sexual violence both on and off campus. The City plans to reconvene participating institutions in Spring 2027 to review findings from campus listening sessions, assess proposed improvements, and identify opportunities for continued collaboration.
The initiative builds on Mayor Moreno’s longstanding advocacy for sexual assault survivors. In 2015, while serving in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Moreno authored landmark legislation that overhauled Louisiana’s treatment of sexual assault victims. The reforms ended the practice of billing survivors for forensic medical examinations, strengthened procedures for handling sexual assault evidence, and established coordinated regional response protocols to better protect and support survivors.
“This is an issue I care deeply about and have worked on for many years. Bringing our universities, law enforcement, and community partners together is an important step toward making real progress,” said Mayor Moreno. “No single institution can tackle sexual violence alone. We need to share what works, identify where we’re falling short, and commit to stronger protections for students across our city. My goal is for New Orleans to lead the way in preventing sexual assault, supporting survivors, and holding offenders accountable.”
“Sexual violence on and off university campuses is a significant public health issue,” said Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Dr. Jennifer Avegno. “A collective and comprehensive response is needed to keep our residents safe, starting with strong education and prevention efforts by our institutions of higher learning. Under the Mayor’s leadership, our community can become a model for safety and healthy behavior.”
“Only through partnership can we make our campuses as safe for everyone as we would want them to be for our own loved ones,” said New Orleans Police Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon.
Video of today’s roundtable: Click Here
Photos of today’s roundtable: Click Here