Kerfor University VS. Sexual Violence & Misconduct

Kerfor University VS. Sexual Violence & Misconduct • Submitted by: Florida International University • Janiel Vargas • Chris Arguedas • Monique Purnell • Luis Sierra

2014Taskforce Objectives • To spread knowledge surrounding sexual violence & sexual assault to KU’s campus community through educational programming and transparent initiatives • Distribute sexual assault resources to the campus community to ensure the safety of its students, faculty, and staff • To produce procedures grounded in the SaVE Act • To better serve our student’s, specifically victim’s of sexual assault and violence • To ensure the rights of the victim as well as those accused

Outline: • Part One: • Raising Awareness • Part Two: • Programmatic Efforts • Part Three: • Ensuring the Rights of the Victim and the Accused • Part Four: • What is Consent? • Part Five: • Relevant Theory

Setting Boundaries At KerforU • Sexual Misconduct serves as an overarching issue that we as a taskforce aim to confront and alleviate. It can be defined as: • Sexual Assault: General term that includes any forced or unwanted sexual activity, including rape, incest, sexual abuse, and molestation • Forced or unwanted touching of an intimate part of the body, such as breasts, buttocks, or genitals • Rape: Aspecific type of sexual assault which involves any forced, manipulated, or coerced penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth, by a penis or other object • Other forms of Sexual Misconduct: Sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, stalking, voyeurism, and any other conduct of a sexual nature that is nonconsensual, or has the purpose or effect of threatening, intimidating, or coercing a person. (http://smr.yale.edu/definitions-sexual-misconduct-consent-and-harassment)

Part One: Raising Awareness • In 2010 there were 188,380 reports of rape and/or sexual assault in the United States. • More than half of rape and sexual assault crimes take place between 6pm and 6am. • Females are more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault (182,000) than males (40,000). • Most victims of rape or sexual assault are females younger than 24 years of age. • Most rapes committed against women are committed by an intimate partner (spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend) or someone else they know (friend, family member, acquaintance). (From Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Victimization, 2010, National Crime Victimization Survey: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv10.pdf)

Raising Awareness:Ponder before you post • Questions the taskforce would like student’s to ask themselves surrounding phone applications and text messages: • Would I want my parent, best friend, sibling, supervisor, or professor to view this photo? • Is the photo an accurate depiction of my character? • Could this photo prevent me from finding a job in the future? • Would you want the photo posted to a website for the world to see? • Something to share with students: • Snapchat’s Policy States: • We also cannot prevent others from making copies of your Snaps (e.g., by taking a screenshot). If we are able to detect that the recipient has captured a screenshot of a Snap that you send, we will attempt to notify you. In addition, as for any other digital information, there may be ways to access Snaps while still in temporary storage on recipients’ devices or, forensically, even after they are deleted. You should not use Snapchat to send messages if you want to be certain that the recipient cannot keep a copy.

Raising Awareness • Incorporating Social Media • #keepitsafeis the taskforce’s social media campaign geared towards changing the paradigm of sexual assault from “we must protect ourselves” to “let’s protect each other”. More importantly, the campaign hopes to integrate accountability into the lives of students through mutual respect and support. • The #keepitsafecampaign is intended for Instagram where student’s are encouraged to make the #keepitsafe pledge: • I pledge to familiarize myself with the SaVE act and how it applies to my campus community. • I pledge to educate myself on sexual misconduct. • I pledge to protect my peers through sexual misconduct prevention.

Part Two: Programmatic Efforts • The KU taskforce would like to institute a “Sexual Assault Awareness Month’’ during the month of April by implementing the following action steps: • On April 1st students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to wear purple for Victim Advocacy. • The Division of Student Affairs will also sell purple ribbons that read #keepitsafeto promote the campaign and support Victim Advocacy on campus. • All proceeds will benefit a local healthcare clinic that conducts free STD screenings for voluntary donations.

Programs continued:The House of Repression • This program will allow for students to walk through a series of staged sexual assault scenarios and encounter the following: • Walls lined with information aimed at debunking myths surrounding sexual assault • 3 staged “sexual assault” scenarios led by student actors • Each scenario will present a different hypothetical situation that can occur on a college campus. • A self reflection room, facilitated by student actors, will provide students with the opportunity to recount how the performances made them feel and what they learned from the experience. • Last but not least, students are encouraged to pledge to #keepitsafeat KU and post their pledge to Instagram.

Anti-Myths: • Examples of information shared on the walls of the “House of Repression”: • Most rapists are strangers. • 77% of female sexual assault victims know their assailants. On college campuses, 9 out of 10 female victims know their attackers. • If victims don't aggressively fight back, they weren't raped. • Intentional sexual contact without consent of the other person constitutes sexual assault, regardless of whether or not victims fight back. Victims may not use physical force for a number of reasons, including fear or physical incapacitation. • Men cannot be raped. • 1 out of 33 men will be a victim of rape or sexual assault in his lifetime. (http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-myths-about-sexual-assault-and-dating-violence#)

A student’s testimonial: • The House of Repression

Part Three: Ensuring the Rights • The Accused As a public university our taskforce will: • Provide Equal Protection and Due Process in judicial hearings to those who were accused of having committed sexual violence. • The accused must be made aware of what type of sexual violence he or she is being charged with by the victim. • Moreover, the SaVE Act clearly states the following which we intend to adhere to: • Both parties can have representatives present during hearing. • Both parties have the right to receive written outcomes.

Ensuring the Rights • The Victims • Our taskforce will execute the following: • Foster a relationship with Counseling & Psychological Services to better accommodate victims of sexual violence & misconduct. • Establish a 24/7 Assault Hotline, in conjunction with the University Police Department, where victims can report sexual misconduct and find resources. • Establish a Peer Ear Program that allows for victims to talk through situations with fellow peers who have experienced and overcome sexual assault.

Victim Support Services • To ensure the safety of victims, Kerfor U plans to provide accommodations to separate the victim from the assaulter and successfully reorient them to campus after their attack: • Academic support • Ensuring that victims and their assaulter don’t share classes • Teacher’s must be kept in the loop (if warranted and with the full consent of the student) • Housing accommodations (in the event they live in the same resident hall as the perpetrator) • Free health screening & STD tests on campus • Maintaining relationship between campus police in processing and accommodating assault cases

Part Four:“What is consent?” • Consent means that both people in a sexual encounter must agree to it, and either person may decide at any time that they no longer consent and want to stop the activity. • Consenting to one behavior does not obligate you to consent to any other behaviors. • One occasion also does not obligate you to consent on any other occasion. • Consenting means only that at this particular time, you would like to engage in this particular sexual behavior. • Certain circumstances make it impossible for a person to legally give consent. • Ex: If someone is drunk or high on drugs, then that person cannot give consent. • Age can also determine whether a person can legally consent to certain sexual behaviors, such as intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. (http://www.pamf.org/teen/abc/sex/consent.html)

Part Five: Schlossberg's Transition Theory • Victims of sexual misconduct undergo a period of transitions from when the act is committed, to how it’s dealt with, and to when they’ve recovered from the traumatizing experience, at which point they’ll be able to resume some semblance of normalcy in their everyday life. • As such, we have included the phases of transitions that a victim of sexual misconduct would traverse through (The 4 S’s): • Situation • Self • Support • Strategies

Schlossberg's Transition TheoryContinued • Situation: In this phase what triggers the sexual act and its timing greatly impacts how the victim controls what occurs. • Self: In this phase the sexual act impacts how the victim copes with it and on how he or she views life and those with whom they interact with on a daily basis. • Support: In this phase the victim seeks console from friends, family members, and other relatives in order to not feel alone during such a vulnerable time in their life. • Strategies: In this phase the victim searches for resolutions whether they’d be in the form of interventions or otherwise which will help him or her get the healing process underway.

References: • Campus Sexual Violence Resource List. (2013, January 1). Retrieved February 16, 2014, from Sexual Assault Awareness Month: http://www.nsvrc.org/saam/campus-resource-list • Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). College Student Development Theory. (1st ed., Vol. 1st, p. 359). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. DOI: www.joseeybass.com • Rape & Sexual Assault. (2010, January 1). Retrieved February 18, 2014, from Safe Horizon: http://www.safehorizon.org/index/what-we-do-2/rape--sexual-assault-64.html?gclid=CMnS0Lbc0bwCFeJF7Aod30wAng • Sexual Violence: Definitions. (2014, January 2). Retrieved February 16, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/definitions.html • The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act . (2014, January 31). Retrieved February 12, 2014, from CleryCenter for Security on Campus: http://clerycenter.org/campus-sexual-violence-elimination-save-act • Title IX Education Amendments of 1972. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 12, 2014, from United States Department of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/titleix.htm • VAWA Amendments to Clery/Campus SaVE . (2014, January 31). Retrieved February 12, 2014, from Clery Center for Security on Campus: http://clerycenter.org/article/vawa-amendments-clerycampus-save • VAWA Reauthorization. (2014, January 31). Retrieved February 15, 2014, from Clery Center For Security on Campus: http://clerycenter.org/article/vawa-reauthorization • William A., K., & Barbara E., L. (2007). The Law of Higher Education. (1st ed., Vol. 1st, p. 665). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. DOI: www.josseybass.com

Kerfor University VS. Sexual Violence & Misconduct