Transcript Sexual Assault Task force at OurU

SEXUAL ASSAULT TASK
FORCE AT OurU
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
TEAM
NICOLE CARLEN
DAVID TERNIER
CAPTAIN: PEYTON LIPSCOMB
Task Force Mission
The Task Force at Our University
strives to protect our students
from any dangers that present
themselves. Our University’s
goals are to reduce sexual
violence and misconduct in the
campus community and raise
awareness to the community
about sexual violence. Our
University hopes to stop sexual
violence from happening one case
at a time.
GOAL
STRATEGY
1. Accommodating the unique needs of survivors of
sexual violence
-Protect victim identity
-Give power back to survivor
-Collaborative efforts across departments
-Assist in feelings of security
-Allow for multiple form of reporting
-Adjustment of response
-Retaliation prevention
-Resources to speak out
2. Ensuring the rights of those accused of sexual
violence are met
-Evaluate policies
-Collaborate with campus and city law enforcement
-Provide a prompt, fair and impartial investigation and resolution
-Make accused aware of rights
3. Changing myths of sexual misconduct to fact
-Use social media apps, such as SnapChat and Instagram to raise
awareness
-Tactical use of advertising spaces on campus to raise awareness. These
spaces include buses, electronic signs, bulletin boards throughout
campus buildings
4. Sexual Misconduct prevention
-Provide events which encourage students to socialize in alcohol free
settings
-Raise awareness of sexual objectification through programs
-Encourage students to sign pledges to stand against sexual violence
-Partnerships with outside resources, such as Men Can Stop Rape
GOAL
STRATEGY
5. Changing the paradigm from victims protecting
themselves from sexual violence to ensuring all our
community members treat everyone with respect to
prevent sexual misconduct
-Educational Programs at Orientation
-Bystander Training
-Additional training for faculty and staff
-Unique educational programs during the semester which are
open to/partner with the surrounding community, such as
slUtwalk and Lighting tours
6. Educating the campus community on ensuring all
parties involved in sexual activity consent to that
sexual actions
-Provide definitions of consent and sexual violence
-Educate on the most commonly known areas that sexual
violence can occur
-Raise awareness of other outlets that can lead to sexual
assault
-Discuss ways we can prevent sexual assault
-Incorporating social media into raising awareness
7. Keeping Current with recent regulatory updates
-Additional Apps on the OurU phone App that break down
responsibilities and obligations of the university
-University Blog with updates from Department of Education’s
Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that can encompass VAWA,
Campus SaVE, and Clery updates
Goal 1: Accommodating the unique needs of survivors of
sexual violence
STRATEGY
ACTION
Protect victim identity
-Train/Educate responders on victim response and rights as outlined by the university
and OCR
-Implement policy of “need to know” so that information does not pass through chain,
but is only reported to those at a high level of “need to know”, be that through the Dean
of Students Office, Counseling center, Residence Life, University Police, etc.
Give power back to the survivor
- Adjust response to fit the desire of the survivor
- Provide survivor with resources in the campus community and outside, i.e. counseling,
medical, legal, etc.
Collaborative efforts across
departments
-Provide and have ready appropriate resources for survivor
-Investigate reports in an timely, but thorough manner
-Communication between departments for referrals: Dean of Students, Housing,
University Police/Police, Health and Wellness, Counseling Center, Women’s Center
Goal 1 continued
STRATEGY
ACTION
Assist in feelings of security
-In situation where both parties are identified, ban the perpetrator from dining halls, residence
halls, and other locations if necessary
-Permit for room/building change if desired by the survivor
Allow for multiple forms of
reporting
-Implementation of electronic reporting system for survivors (and witnesses) who would like to
create a report, but would like to do so anonymously.
Awareness of response
-Recognition by institution there might be need for variation in response for male, female, and
LGBTQ survivors
-Take culture into consideration and adapt response to align with culture to keep survivor
comfortable
Retaliation prevention
-Policy for perpetrators to sign a non-retaliation statement before any conduct hearings can
occur
Resources to speak out
-Campus meetings for survivors
-Online forum to share stories
-Campus events
Electronic Reporting System
Benefits:
•Designated spot for anyone to report if they live
on or off-campus, survivors or witness to the
act
•Anonymous unless student is in danger – might
be a good alternative for those we want to
report but fear consequences (such as the
process outing their sexuality)
Suggestion:
•has to be visible and made known to students
•available on the school website or OurU phone
App
OurU Phone App
The OurU Phone Application will be available to both
student and administrators.
The application links on the screen will take users to a
variety of links which will educate on policy, procedures,
rights, news updates, and any programs.
More details into each will follow.
Goal 2: Ensuring the rights of those accused of sexual
violence are met
STRATEGY
ACTION
Evaluate policies
-Evaluate policies to ensure they incorporate the proper
procedures when assessing a sexual violence case as well as
making sure Title IX and the Clery Act are incorporated.
Collaborate with campus and city law enforcement
-Have trained law enforcement working with the campus to help
investigate sexual violence cases.
Provide a prompt, fair and impartial investigation and resolution -Be conducted by officials who receive annual training on
issues related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, and stalking, and how to conduct an investigation and
hearing process that protects the safety of victims and
promotes accountability.
Make accused aware of rights
-The accuser and the accused are entitled to the same
opportunity to have others present during an institutional
disciplinary proceeding, including the opportunity to be
accompanied to any related meeting or proceeding by an
advisor of their choice.
Goal 3: Changing myths of sexual misconduct to fact
STRATEGY
ACTION
Use social media apps, such as
SnapChat and Instagram to
raise awareness
-Discuss facts about sexual violence and
misconduct through memes and other
pictures.
-Ex1: a picture of a young woman with a
quote underneath, “they said I was asking
for it because of the way I was dressed.”
-Ex2: a picture of a young man with a
quote, “they said it was not rape because
there was no way to prove it.”
- SnapChat
-Instagram
Tactical use of advertising
spaces on campus to raise
awareness.
-Using advertisement spaces on campus
including buses, electronic signs and bulletin
boards we will present various facts to faculty
staff and students to keep them informed of
the truth about sexual violence
Goal 4: Sexual Misconduct prevention
STRATEGY
ACTION
Provide events which
encourage students to socialize
in alcohol free settings
-Studies have shown that there is a
correlation between alcohol consumption so
providing an alternative activities will
hopefully have a positive impact.
Raise awareness of sexual
objectification through
programs
-These awareness programs would focus on
current media’s influence in sexual objectification
and how that can influence our decisions
Encourage students to sign
pledges to stand against sexual
violence
-At the beginning of the year have multiple tables
around campus providing information about
sexual violence and have people in the
community sign pledges to stand against sexual
violence
Partnerships with outside
resources, such as Men Can
Stop Rape
-By bringing in outside resources we hope to
reach out to students and empower them to make
choices that contribute to a healthy campus
community.
Goal 5: Changing the paradigm from victims protecting themselves from sexual violence to ensuring
all our community members treat everyone with respect to prevent sexual misconduct
STRATEGY
ACTION
Educational Programs at Orientation
-Bring in survivors to share their stories
Bystander Training
-Teaching our students what it mean to be a bystander as well
as how they can intervene effectively and safely
Additional training for faculty and staff
-Understand what are the resources on campus, and how they
can be a resource to the students
Unique educational programs during the semester
which are open to/partner with the surrounding
community, such as slUtwalk and Lighting tours
-slUtwalk: Put yourself in the shoes of a woman who was
“asking” for it to understand some of the misconceptions that
are placed on women who sexually assaulted
-Lighting tour: Students wouldto partner with University
Police and other resources on campus to see what they do not
like on campus in regards to safety and how they would
change things
Goal 6:Educating the campus community on ensuring all parties
involved in sexual activity consent to that sexual actions
STRATEGY
ACTION
-Provide definitions of consent and sexual violence and
sexual misconduct
-Cover what people define what consent is not
-Cover what people define consent as
-Provide actual definition of consent
-Give definition of sexual violence and the breakdown of it
-Educate on the most commonly known areas that sexual
violence and misconduct can occur
-Program for campus community that speaks about how homes,
community areas, professional’s office, and hospital/jails are risk
areas
-Raise awareness of other outlets for sexual assault
-Stalking and Cyberstalking
-Discuss ways we can prevent sexual assault
-Don’t walk alone
-Keep all distractions put up
-Be alert
-Call someone
-Try statements to deter them
-Incorporating social media into raising awareness
-Facebook page: Consent at OurU
-Sexual violence awareness on Consent at OurU Facebook page
-Twitter: #consentawarenessday, #consentatOurU
OurU Facebook and Twitter
Here at OurU, we are aware how much our students incorporate
social media into their everyday lives. Therefore, we are creating
consent awareness through our Facebook and our Twitter.
Facebook: OurU task force has created a Facebook page called
Consent at OurU. The plan with the Facebook page is to just
continue to provide support to our students. On March 25, which is
Consent Awareness Day on our campus, during the course of the
day, different facts, information and stories from sexual violence
survivors (which have been cleared by the survivors). This will be a
year round page that students can utilize as a resource or to
become a part of the community to support survivors of sexual
violence.
Twitter: OurU task force also created a Twitter page. This page,
Consent at OurU, will also share facts and information, but will
encourage the use of the hashtags: #consentawarenessday and
#consentatOurU and #nomorerape for Consent Awareness Day on
March 25.
Goal 7: Keep recent on regulatory updates
OCR News:
●
This portion of the OurU app would be linked to the university Blog which keeps up to
date on news from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
VAWA:
●
Interactive portion for administration or faculty to educate on the Violence Against
Women Act and additional resources/legislative information.
SaVE:
●
Under this faculty and staff would be linked to a user friendly guide that outlines the
updates made to the Clery Act which fall under this Act. It would also give staff a stepby-step process to work through reporting and processing through scenarios so they
can inform students of their rights as outlined in the act.
Ask us Questions:
●
This would connect users with the Legal Department to answer any questions.
Goal 7: Continued
Campus Blog:
The intent of the blog would be monitored by the legal
department with the intent to update the campus faculty
and staff on news or policy changes. The electronic blog
would be sent out regularly to faculty and staff. This
would also allow staff and faculty to comment with any
questions they might have.
For example, this update is on the 3 tribes in Oregon which
allows tribes to exercise jurisdiction over cases of
violence. This can potentially affect American Indian
students enrolled on campus and serve as an example of
the direction of future legislation.
Citations
Clery Center. (2013). Vawa reauthorization . Retrieved from http://clerycenter.org/article/vawa-reauthorization
Brandenburg, J. B. (1997). Confronting sexual harassment; what schools and colleges can do . New
York: Teachers College Press.
Duncan, Arne. (2014, Janurary 26). We must stop campus rape. Retrieved from
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/2014/01/26/We-must-stop-campus-rape/stories/201401260015
Fisher, B. S., Daigle, L. E., & Cullen, F. T. (2010). Unsafe in the ivory tower; the seual victimization of
college women . California: SAGE Publications.
Flaherty, C. (2013, February 14). AAUP seeks better policies on preventing sexual assaults. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved
from http://www.insidehighered.com
Grasgreen, A. (2013, June 5). Yale program to shift sexual assault culture goes beyond prevention. Inside Higher Ed.
Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com
Grasgreen, A. (2012, October 25). As allegations fly, Amherst College tries to counter sexual assault issues. Inside Higher
Ed. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com
Citations
Grasgreen, A. (2013, October 18). Montana adjusts to life as a ‘blueprint’ for sexual assault response. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved
from http://www.insidehighered.com
ICTMN Staff. (2013, March 7). President Obama Signs Violence Against Women Act Into Law. Retrieved from
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/03/07/president-obama-signs-violence-against-women-act-law-148057
ICTMN Staff. (2014, February 6). Three Tribes to Exercise Jurisdiction Over Non-Indian Perpetrators Under VAWA. Retrieved
from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/02/06/three-tribes-exercise-jurisdiction-over-non-indianperpetrators-under-vawa-153444
Sadoff, R.L. (1986). Sexual Violence. Bull NY Academy Medicine, 62(5), 466-476.
Todahl, J. L., Linville, D., Bustin, A., Wheeler, J., & Gau, J. (2009). Sexual assault support services and community systems:
Understanding critical issues and needs in the LGBTQ community. Violence Against Women, 15(8), 952-976. doi:
10.1177/1077801209335494
White House. (2014, January 23). A Renewed Call to Action to End Rape and Sexual Assault. Retrieved from
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/01/a-renewed-call-to-action-to-end-rape-and- sexual-assault/?src=rotator