Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus U.S. Dept. of Justice

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Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on
CampusU.S. Dept. of Justice

• Model Policies
• Background and Overview
• Other Universities Efforts

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Why Campus Policy?

• With faculty numbering more than 900,000 and
  enrollments of more than 15 million students
  (including more than 2 million in graduate and
  professional schools), these institutions are at
  the center of our social system.
• -(Ausubel J., 1998)

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Why Campus Policy?

• Unique Challenges
• A victim of intimate partner violence or
  sexual assault may continue to live in danger if
  the perpetrator resides in the same dormitory or
  attends the same classes.

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Why Campus Policy?

• Unique Challenges
• A victim may wish to remain anonymous but may
  find this to be virtually impossible in such an
  insular environment.

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Why Campus Policy?

• Unique Challenges
• A victim may be harassed by classmates, or by
  an assailants friends who claim that the victim
  asked for it or provoked the crime.

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Why Campus Policy?

• Unique Challenges
• Stalking victims may find it difficult to
  escape their tormentors because the stalker may
  have a seemingly legitimate reason for
  remaining in contact with or in proximity to the
  victim. (e.g., attending class or studying in
  the library).

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Why Campus Policy?

• Unique Opportunities
• Special environment in which young people can
  explore ideas and learn about the world.
• Campuses can provide a venue to raise awareness
  and communicate that violence against women is
  criminal and will not be tolerated.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• A brief overview of the Clery Act
• The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security
  Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act codified
  at 20 USC 1092 (f) as part of Higher Education
  Act of 1965, is a federal law that requires
  colleges and universities to disclose an annual
  report about campus crime and security policies.
  

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security
  Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act
• The Clery Act has several components, three of
• which have particular importance to our task at
• hand
• Annual Report
• Statement of Policy
• Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• A brief overview of the Clery Act continued
• In order to make more information available
  about criminal activity on college campuses in
  the United States, President George Bush signed
  he CSA into federal law in 1990. The Campus
  Security Act was the first inclusive attempt by
  Congress to regulate campus safety and it remains
  the foundation of campus security policy mandates
  today.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• What you should know about the Clery Act
• Secondary institutions receiving federal
  assistance must report
• Sexual assault is among the offenses that must be
  reported
• Statistics
• Who must report
• Security crime log

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• Clery Act Wrap Up True or False?
• There is a penalty for non-compliance with the
  Clery Act.
• There is no relationship between the Family
  Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the
  Clery Act.
• Faculty members are required to report campus
  crime statistics.
• A crime must be investigated in order to be
  included in the statistics.
• Only crimes against students must be reported.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• U.S. Department of Justice
• Office of Justice Programs
• Violence Against Women Grants Office

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• The Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against
  Women on Campus Program (Campus Program) is
  designed to encourage institutions of higher
  education to adopt comprehensive, coordinated
  responses to violent crimes against women on
  campuses, including sexual assault, stalking,
  domestic violence, and dating violence.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• What have we agreed to in our SpecialConditions?
  
• The grantee agrees to establish and maintain a
  coordinated community response to violence
  against women on campus. This multidisciplinary
  response should involve the entire campus and the
  larger community in which the campus is located,
  including local nonprofit, victim advocacy
  organizations, criminal justice partners, and
  civil legal agencies.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• What have we agreed to in our Special
  Conditions?
• The grantee agrees not to offer perpetrators the
  option of entering diversion programs in lieu of
  campus disciplinary or criminal justice
  proceedings
• The grantee agrees not to utilize mediation or
  counseling for couples as a response to violence
  against women crimes on campus.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• What have we agreed to in our Special
  Conditions?
• If graduated sanctions include offender
  intervention programs, the grantee agrees to
  utilize programs that use the coercive power of
  the criminal justice system or campus proceedings
  to hold perpetrators of violence against women
  accountable for their behavior. Programs that
  focus only on controlling anger and impulses,
  addressing alcohol and drug abuse, managing
  emotions, developing communication skills, or
  dealing with stress are not designed to hold
  perpetrators accountable for using violence
  against their intimate partners.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• What have we agreed to in our Special
  Conditions?
• The grantee agrees not to impose sanctions
  against victims of domestic violence, dating
  violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Victims
  should not be ordered to attend therapy or
  penalized for choosing to testify in criminal
  cases.

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What Guides Campus Policy?

• U.S. Department of Justice
• Office of Justice Programs
• Violence Against Women Grants Office

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What is Coordination?

• Involves determining all the places in the
  university community that have contact with
  survivors and students at risk.
• Each identified department develops protocols
  that delineate the steps required for
  appropriately responding.
• -- Organizing College Campuses Against Dating
  Abuse
• -- www.VAWnet.org
• -- Penn. Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• -- Natl. Resource Center on Domestic Violence

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Why Coordination?

• Effective policy implementation requires a
  process for ensuring information flow and the use
  of agreed upon guidelines.
• Penn. Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Natl. Resource Center on Domestic Violence
• Organizing College Campuses Against Dating
  Abuse
• www.VAWnet.org

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How is Coordination Accomplished?

• Coordination requires designation of an agreed
  upon entity so that the network of communication
  is reinforced and a forum exists to respond to
  issues that arise.
• Organizing College Campuses Against Dating Abuse
• www.VAWnet.org
• Penn. Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Natl. Resource Center on Domestic Violence

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What have other universities done?

• 1996 Survey conducted by
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign of
  members of Assn. of Colleges and University
  Housing Offices Internatl
• Revealed that very few campus programs
  reported broad based coordination efforts.

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What have universities done?

• Some universities established committees
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• George Mason University, Virginia
• Temple University (Presidential Oversight
  Committee)

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What have other universities done?

• Some universities delegated the coordination
  effort to law enforcement
• University of California at Berkeley
• Stanford University
• University of Florida

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Who has worked together at other universities?

• University South Carolina
• Student Health Services
• Dept. of Student Development
• University Housing
• Div. Of Student Alumni Services

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Who has worked together at other universities?

• Berkeley
• Medical and Counseling Service
• Campus Police Dept.
• Womens Resource Center
• Student Activities and Services
• Housing Office
• Ombudsperson for Students

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Who has worked together at other universities?

• Stanford University
• Vice Provost for Student Affairs
• Director of Human Resources
• Provost

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Who has worked together at other universities?

• Southern Methodist University
• Educational programs on interpersonal violence
  for students will be conducted by the
• Victim Services Program via
• Wellness Program
• Orientation Week Program
• Programs in Residence Halls
• and seminars for specific groups as requested.

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What was the first step in formulating policy?

• Statements of Purpose
• What they hoped to accomplish by the content of
  the policy

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Statements of Purpose

• To create a caring and effective
  university-wide response to students involved in
  an incident of interpersonal violence.
• -South Carolina University

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Statements of Purpose

• Thoughtful persons recognize the critical
• need for educational institutions to develop a
  comprehensive policy that addresses the serious
  national problem of campus interpersonal
  violence.
• -Temple University

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Statements of Purpose

• A safe campus environment is one in which
  students, faculty and staff are free to conduct
  their daily affairs both inside and outside the
  classroom without fear of physical, emotional, or
  psychological harm. Personal safety is a basic
  human need that must be preserved if the mission
  of the university is to be pursued.
• -National Student Personnel Administration
• -Task Group on Safety and Security, 1980

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Statements of Purpose

• A college is like any other organization that
  you freely join. By joining, you agree to abide
  by its rules. Just as the college has rules
  prohibiting arson, assault and drug sales on
  campus, and has disciplinary responses for such
  infractions, it has a responsibility to prohibit
  sexual assault between students. Without
  policies in place to deal with sexual assault,
  cases brought to the schools attention can be
  badly botched, harming all parties involved.
• - Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER)

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina
• created a Policy Statement asserting
• that violence will not be tolerated,
• that students are encouraged to use services of
  the Ofc. for Sexual Health and Violence
  Prevention (OSHVP) and
• that OSHVP manages the policy.

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• Definitions for Sexual Assault, Relationship
  Violence Stalking and separate policies for
  addressing each.

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• University definition for each behavior addressed
  and
• The criminal definition, including state code
  citations.

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• Victims Bill of Rights
• Discipline Policies and Procedures for
  Victims/Witnesses and for Accused
• Resources

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• Value statements regarding reporting sexual
  assault (encouraged to report to police, strongly
  urged to have rape medical exam)

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• Immediate Care and Tx Procedures for Victims
• Follow-up and Recovery Services for Victim
• Follow-up Services for Acccused

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• The university may proceed with disciplinary
  action even when the alleged victim voluntarily
  chooses not to participate in the process..on the
  basis of statement of relationship violence from
  the victim or witnesss statement or complaint.

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• Other components included
• .Value statements regarding strongly encouraging
  university community members to report incidents
  of relationship violence and

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Model Policies

• The University of South Carolina contd.
• as rationale for reporting, cited
• potential harm to persons
• violations of community standards
• the need to monitor the campus climate.

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Model Policies

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Stakeholders formed a Committee, which sponsored
  a public awareness campaign and distributed
  resource materials.
• Committee evolved into a Coordinating Committee
  open to all interested parties.
• Committee developed protocols and procedures.

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Model Policies

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Components include
• Family Housing Office maintains an apartment for
  use as an emergency shelter - available to
  students, faculty and staff.
• Established Intervention Group for students who
  abuse
• Support groups for women experiencing
  relationship abuse

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Model Policies

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Components include
• Professional Training
• Peer Education
• Public Awareness

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Model Policies

• Temple University
• Comprehensive education programs
• Procedures sensitive to victims
• University disciplinary sanctions for assailants
• Presidential Oversight Committee to review
  effectiveness of the Universitys policy and
  relevant programs and procedures.

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Model Policies

• Temple University contd.
• Other components
• Formal Informal Complaint Reporting Procedures
• Informal Complaints
• If a person reports to University faculty or
  staff that she or he has been assaulted, but
  chooses not to file a formal complaint at that
  time, the complaint will be referred immediately
  to the Universitys Victims Services and notified
  of available services on and off campus and
  alternative remedies. Informal complaints will
  be treated confidentially.

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Model Policies

• George Mason University
• Peer Advocates
• University protocol requiring notification of
  Victims Services - even anonymous reports
• Training to faculty
• Resource Guide
• Team Talks

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Model Policies

• George Mason University contd.
• Procedures for handling assaults that
  represent a potential danger to the campus
  community for purposes of creating a
• Campus Alert Notification such as
• a pattern of acquaintance sexual assaults
• a stranger assault
• a violent or sadistic assault or
• a gang rape

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Model Policies

• Relevant Components From Other University
  policies
• Filing formal charges through the student
  judiciary does not preclude filing criminal
  and/or civil charges. Students who wish to file
  criminal and/or civil charges may receive
  information and assistance from the Office of the
  Dean of Student Life and the University Dept. of
  Public Safety.
• -Southern Methodist University

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Model Policies

• Relevant Components from Other Universities
  Policies
• University Police Dept. policy members shall
• Honor a victims request to speak to an officer
  of the same gender.
• Inform the victim of services available on and
  off campus.
• Ensure that the University victims services
  coordinator is notified and is aware of the
  victims location, so that throughout the
  process, the crime victim advocate can address
  the victims needs and concerns. University of
  Florida

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Model Policies

• Relevant Components From Other Universities
  Policies
• The lead investigator of the University police
  department will complete an in-depth interview
  with the victim, unless due to injuries or
  emotional distress, the interview should be
  delayed.
• The crime victim advocate should be present
  unless there is good and sufficient reason to
  conduct the interview outside the advocates
  presence with the victims consent.
• - University of Florida