Sexual AssaultCase StudyAmanda Cox, Arie Gee, and Angelina McCloskeyUniversity of Florida

Our Assumptions• Large Public Research University• 35,000 Students• Large Greek Population• Predominantly White Institution (PWI)• Students come from mostly affluent backgrounds• The institution already has an award winning alcohol

education program and initiatives.

Literature Review• A spring 2011 letter from the Office of Civil Rights states that institutions are required to

“take immediate action to eliminate the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects.”

• Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE) will require that schools provide sexual assault victims with contact information for legal assistance, counseling and health services and campus crime reports would be expanded to include cases of stalking and domestic violence beginning in 2014.

• The Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to provide students with information about campus crime and security policies, including the number of sexual assaults and other crimes that occur on campus.

• Title IX of the Education Act includes protection against sexual harassment, sexual violence and sexual assault and governs how campuses respond to sexual assault cases.

“We need staff and faculty from all departments on campus to be aware of these issues, know how to respond if an assault is disclosed to them, and be engaged in dialogue on how to best serve students through preventing these crimes and supporting those who are victimized.”

Defining Consent• Sexual activity requires consent, which is defined as voluntary, positive agreement

between the participants to engage in specific sexual activity.

• Communicating consent:• Consent to sexual activity can be communicated in a variety of ways. In the absence of

clear, positive agreement, one should presume that consent has not been given.• While verbal consent is not an absolute requirement for consensual sexual activity,

verbal communication prior to engaging in sex helps to clarify consent. • Consent must be clear and unambiguous for each participant at every stage of a sexual

encounter. • The absence of "no" should not be understood to mean there is consent.• A prior relationship does not indicate consent to future activity.

• Alcohol and drugs:• A person who is asleep or mentally or physically incapacitated, either through the

effect of drugs or alcohol or for any other reason, is not capable of giving valid consent.• The use of alcohol or drugs may seriously interfere with the participants' judgment

about whether consent has been sought and given.

The TIERR ApproachTraining - Faculty, Staff, and Student Leaders

Intervention – Students Helping Students

Environment – Evolving a Campus Culture

Report – Making reporting clear and easy

Respond – Refer and Follow-Up

Target Audience

• Faculty and Staff• Student Staff and Leaders (Residence Life, Orientation

Leaders, Campus Ambassadors)• Leaders in the Greek Community

• By identifying key leaders in the community, we are able to efficiently train and transmit educational material and resources into the campus and community. Through the use of social media and various forms of technology, accessibility to the training is consistently available.

Training – Faculty and Staff• Each faculty and staff member is required to complete the

interactive training module every two years• The module will include: • Recognizing faculty, staff, or students who may be victims• Strategies for supporting the victim and the accused• How and where to refer individuals to campus and community

resources• Reporting Policies – FERPA: Does it apply to you?• Information on the University Consensual Relationship Policy,

local, and state laws

Training – Student Leaders• Campus Clarity: Think About It online program• Won the Gold NASPA Excellence Award for "transforming higher

education through outstanding programs, innovative services, and effective administration." http://campusclarity.blogspot.com/

• In addition to training students to confront and prevent serious campus problems such as sexual violence and substance abuse, the program helps schools comply with the training requirements of the Campus SaVE Act and Title IX, while also providing administrators important insights into the culture of their campus and student body.

Training Leaders in the Greek Community

Annual Workshops

Executive Councils

Greek Advisors

PanHellenic Recruitment Ambassadors

Greek Ambassadors

Sexual Misconduct Prevention • Training module that covers sexual assault and bystander

intervention• All students must complete this module before they are able to

register for courses• A hold will be placed on each student’s account through the

registrar

Intervention – Bystander Intervention• STEP ONE: Notice Events. Social norms often reinforce the normality of sexism

and sexual assault so that they escape notice. Therefore, the first step is to notice when someone is crossing a line.

• STEP TWO: Identify Events as Problems. If we understand the potential impact that a sexual assault can have on a survivor and the survivor’s friends, family, and co-workers, we will see someone crossing the line as a problem requiring action.

• STEP THREE: Feel Motivated to and Capable of Finding a Solution. Many times we feel stuck in situations where we might intervene. Providing students with frameworks like primary prevention, dominant/counter stories of masculinity, and bystander intervention can motivate them to become unstuck.

• STEP FOUR: Acquire Skills for Action. This key step underlines the necessity in helping men to develop strategies leading to effective action.

• STEP FIVE: Act. The first four steps are very important, but they only have an effect if an emphasis is placed on action.

• STEP SIX: Evaluate and Revise. After having intervened, we should consider what worked well, what did not, and what we might do differently the next time an opportunity arises.

Adapted from mencanstoprape.org

Environment – Evolving a Campus Environment

• Creating a Culture of Care between Students• Students caring for students• Enable and encourage students to act – Bystander

Intervention• Transmitting Information• Utilizing on campus resources and media marketing• Modules• Mobile applications• Dispelling myths through educational programming

Report• Benchmarking: ASKDC App• How we would implement this:• Use a similar app and work with IT

Services at our institution to add a “Report Now” button on the app.

• Under “Report Now,” we would have the institution’s definitions of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, and rape.

• Students would be able to report an incident through the app, either anonymously, or by submitting their ID number and contact information.

Respond – Refer and Follow-Up

• The TIERR Team would respond to any student who may have experienced a traumatic sexual violence act.

• Some ways we can help students are:• Crisis Hotline: Available 24/7, 365 days a year• A TIERR Team member can talk a student through their options as

well as any possible consequences of their choices.• A TIERR Team member will work with students to help them

receive appropriate medical care.• A TIERR Team member will provide counseling and/or referrals to

campus and community resources, including academic and personal support

• A TIERR Team member will provide support for any third parties affected by the violence or trauma, including but not limited to friends, roommates, family members, classmates, etc.

Helping Survivors• Believe the survivor• Be patient• Listen• Do not be judgmental• Validate her/his feelings of fear and anger• Let her/him know they do not have to go through this alone• Avoid Victim Blaming – Remind her/him that sexual assault is never the

victims fault• Let the survivor make the decisions• Keep it confidential – Chances are, this person confided in you because

they trust you. Do not break that trust.• Know the resources – Offer to go with them if they choose to visit any of

these resources, but do not insist• Take care of yourself – Ask for help if you need it. Do not be afraid to

talk to someone about how you are feeling.Adapted from Northwestern University

Rights of the Accused• The university will provide a timely and thorough investigation, and will

treat the accused with respect before, during, and after the student conduct process.

• Accused students have the right to have one advisor throughout the student conduct process, including meetings and hearings.

• The university will make reasonable efforts to protect confidentiality, within the parameters of FERPA (Family and Education Privacy Act of 1974) and the university conduct process.

Adapted from Northwestern University

Making this happen…• Ideally the institution receives grant from the US Department

of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women to purchase programs and fund new positions• Campus Clarity – Online Training Module• Work with ASKDC developers to create an app for our campus• Create a Title IX Coordinator position

• Realistically, we may not receive the grant. In this scenario, we would:• Work with IT to create our own online training module, accessible

through student portals• Develop a user-friendly mobile application that provides

immediate access to resources and reporting structures, both on campus and in the community

• Work with Counseling Center and the Dean of Students Office

THANK YOU!

A huge Thank You to StudentAffairs.com and the Case Study Coordinators for giving us this opportunity!