|
|
|
DEFINITION
AND LEGAL RIGHTS
WHERE
TO GET HELP Time
is of the essence for survivors of sexual assault in several ways. Time is
short in the sense that survivors are likely to be in a crisis and in need
of immediate support. Time is also short for securing evidence for possible
prosecution. On the other hand, survivors need time and ongoing emotional
support in a constructive way. In
the aftermath of a sexual assault, attention must be given to the immediate
emotional and medical needs of the survivor, while also ensuring that
appropriate documentation be obtained for subsequent legal and/or
disciplinary remedies they may wish to pursue. Help
is available 24-hours a day. Between the hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday
through Friday, you can receive help from any of the following offices:
Worcester
State College is developing a trained Volunteer Advocates for Sexual Assault
Survivors to help provide this support during evening, weekends, and
holidays. Assistance
can also be obtained 24 hours a day through College Police, 929-8044 or X.
444 from the residence halls. (By clicking on
the community member's line below it will tell you their role and actions in
assisting a sexual assault survivor)
Any
reports of sexual assault must be reported to the College's Sexual Assault
Counselor (SAC). Following a report of sexual assault, the SAC will complete
a sexual assault incident report and will coordinate with departments to
follow up on the services that are provided for each incident without the
department's disclosing the survivor's name. Such follow-up with departments
will help ensure consistent implementation of this protocol and generate
feedback necessary for future revisions. Such follow-up will also help
within the greater Worcester community. SEXUAL
ASSAULT RESPONSE TEAM The
purpose of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is to address the safety
needs of the WSC community while protecting the survivor's right to privacy
and insuring the integrity of any police investigation or college
disciplinary action. The Sexual Assault Counselor will convene the SART as
soon as possible or no later than 2 business days. The
SART will composed of at least the following:
The
decision of the SART will be based on the attendance of at least 5 members.
A telephone conference may be used if necessary. Other members of the WSC
community may be included as needed for a given set of circumstances.
Whenever the SAC and Director of Public Safety/College Police determine that
an alleged incident of sexual assault represents a potential danger to the
WSC community, an advisory will be issued. (PLEASE NOTE: the SAC and the
Director of Public Safety/College Police may also determine that a potential
danger to the WSC community exists if the survivor is not a member of the
WSC community.) A potential danger to the WSC community includes:
If the potential danger to the WSC community is found to exist, a safety notice to the WSC community will be released and appropriate steps will be taken to ensure public safety. Notice of any situation affecting the safety of the WSC community and the SART's recommendations will be provided to the President of the College and other appropriate College staff. Although the survivor will not be present at the SART meetings, the survivor's rights to anonymity will be respected by all members and overseen by the SAC. Furthermore, the SAC will keep the victim informed of the Team's actions either directly when the survivor speaks with the SAC or indirectly through the contact person who reported the assault (if other than survivor).
SEXUAL ASSAULT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Sexual Assault Advisory Committee will be composed of three to four interested and concerned faculty and staff members. Their purpose will be to provide outside guidance for the Sexual Assault Coordinator, suggest educational opportunities, and to assist in management and scheduling of the Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Assault. The Sexual Assault Advisory Committee will also help to monitor publication and distribution of Sexual Assault Policies.
Call 929-8044 (or 444 Residence Halls only) or use Campus blue lighted call boxes (provide location only). College Police are located in the upper campus, Dowden Hall lobby, lower campus, gatehouse or Sullivan Auditorium.
ACTION: If the victim requires medical attention, s/he will be immediately transported to the hospital. Transportation will be arranged by College Police. The police officer will provide immediate support for the safety of the victim and problem solving.
ROLE: College Police Officers are required to report a sexual assault to the Director of Public Safety/College Police and the SAC immediately and may be required to share information with the Dean, Student Development on a "need to know" basis. Beyond these specific contacts, College Police Officers are required to keep this information in strict confidence within the confines of the law as outlined in MGL CH41 S97. The Director of Public Safety/College Police is required to report a sexual assault to the SAC immediately and may be required to share information with the Dean of Student Development on a "need to know" basis. Beyond these specific contacts, the Director is required to keep this information in strict confidence within the confines of the law. In accordance with the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Acts, anonymous statistics of sexual assaults will be maintained and reported by Public Safety.
Survivors of sexual assault may report an assault to Public Safety as follows:
1. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT- NO INVESTIGATION: The survivor may, at a future time, choose to pursue the college judicial option or the criminal complaint option listed below.
2. FORMAL REPORT-COLLEGE JUDICIAL: The survivor chooses to pursue adjudication through the college judicial process. This may be combined with the criminal complaint option.
3. FORMAL REPORT-CRIMINAL COMPLAINT: The survivor chooses to bring criminal charges. This may be combined with the college judicial process.
Survivors will be part of the decision process with regard to prosecution. If the investigation indicates that the case should be prosecuted, the case MAY be referred to the District Attorney for prosecution regardless of the survivor's wishes. This would be rare, but could occur if an assault was particularly brutal or if there were unusual circumstances that require prosecution to protect the community.
Call 929-8074, Chandler Village.
ACTION: The victim reporting the sexual assault to a Residence Assistant (RA) will be given the option of directly discussing the assault with professional Residence Life staff person on duty, a College Police officer, or the Sexual Assault Coordinator
ROLE: Due to the profound impact that the sexual assault has on the survivor and the residence life community, paraprofessional staff (Resident Assistants) are required to report a sexual assault to their professional staff (Resident Director, Assistant Director of Residence Life and Housing) immediately. All residence life staff are required to keep this information in strict confidence. Residence Life professional staff are then required to report a sexual assault to the SAC immediately.
Call 929-8875, Gym Building #209
ACTION: The Health Services staff member will provide immediate ambulatory care and support for the safety of the victim. The Health Services staff member will encourage the victim to go to UMass Medical or another nearby hospital of choice for medical services, and offer to accompany the victim when coverage permits. College Police will arrange transportation.
ROLE: Health Services staff are required to report a sexual assault to the SAC immediately. Health Services staff are required to keep this information in strict confidence.
COUNSELING SERVICES staff member
Call 929-8072, Student Center #300
ACTION: The Counseling Services staff member will provide immediate support for the safety of the victim, and will ask the victim if s/he has a safe place to go. If not, the staff member will contact the Director of Residence Life or an appropriate professional staff person. The staff member will provide immediate support and problem solving.
ROLE: Contacts with Counseling Services staff are, by nature, confidential. While Counseling Services staff are required to report a sexual assault to the SAC, they are not required to provide the name of the survivor.
STUDENT CENTER/ACTIVITIES staff member
Call 929-8073, Student Center, second floor. ACTION: The student employee will immediately contact the Sexual Assault Coordinator or College Police.
ROLE: SC/SA student staff are required to report a sexual assault to the Sexual Assault Counselor. After normal business hours, student staff are required to report this information to the College Police Department. Student staff may be required to share information with the Dean of Student Development on a "need to know" basis. Beyond these specific contacts, student staff are required to keep this information in strict confidence. Unless specifically requested by the survivor, student staff are expected to withdraw from the process at this point.
Call 929-8851, Student Center, #331
ACTION: If the victim requires medical attention, College Police will be immediately contacted to arrange for transportation to a hospital. The SAC will provide immediate support for the safety of the survivor, and will ask the victim if s/he has a safe place to go. If not, the SAC will contact the Director of Residence Life or the professional staff person on duty to provide accommodations or a room change and/or review the support resources available in the Worcester area.
ROLE: The Sexual Assault Counselor will serve as primary advocate to assist sexual assault survivors regardless of when or where the assault happened. Survivors can choose to utilize none, any or all of these services, as appropriate. Examples of the kinds of services that might be provided by the Counselor are listed below.
1. Provide ongoing confidential support and counseling
2. Accompany the survivor to emergency medical services.
3. Accompany the survivor to the police station.
4. Accompany the survivor to disciplinary proceedings.
5. Provide education information on assault to members of the judicial board as part of any sexual assault related disciplinary hearing.
6. Arrange for any necessary academic accommodations, such as extensions, class changes, etc.
7. Arrange for any necessary housing accommodations, such as room change.
8. Arrange for any necessary safety actions, such as a campus stay away order.
9. Provide general advocacy and referrals to appropriate community support services.
In addition to duties involving specific incidents of assault, the Counselor also:
1. Coordinates campus sexual assault education and prevention efforts.
2. Provides for sexual assault survivor group services.
3. Coordinates the tracking and reporting of sexual assault statistics.
4. Maintains comprehensive statistics on the incidences of campus-related sexual assault formally reported or not.
5. Trains Volunteer Advocates for Sexual Assault Survivors.
VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS
The role and actions of the advocate initially contacted for informal advise is to:
1. Respect the survivor's decisions about how to handle the assault.
2. Refer the survivor to the Sexual Assault Counselor who will serve as primary advocate to them as they access desired services. If requested, accompany the survivor to the initial meeting with the Sexual Assault Counselor.
3. Encourage the survivor to seek appropriate medical attention in order to ensure physical wellbeing, and, at the survivor's discretion, evidence collection. If requested, accompany or provide for accompaniment, to emergency medical provider.
4. Encourage survivor to report the assault to the appropriate police department.
5. Forward appropriate paper work to the Sexual Assault Counselor to ensure continuity of care and legal documentation. Supporting documentation is confidential and can be filed without a name.
FACULTY AND OTHER CAMPUS DEPARTMENTS
Due to the profound impact that sexual assault has on the survivor and the WSC community, faculty and other College staff must report this information to the SAC and College Police Department. Faculty and staff may be requested to share information with the Dean of Student Development on a "need to know" basis. Beyond these specific contacts, faculty and staff are required to keep this information in strict confidence. Unless specifically requested by the survivor, faculty and staff are expected to withdraw from the intervention process at this point.
|
|
| WSC Police Department | Wasylean Hall - 102 | wscpolice@worcester.edu | 508.929.8044 | Fax: 508.929.8153 | |