CU student government, CU Police, and the Office of Victim Assistance teamed up Tuesday night in the UMC for the first town hall meeting of 2015: “It’s On Us Boulder. Update on Preventing and Reporting Sexual Misconduct at CU.”
The meeting was facilitated by CU Police Chief Melissa Zak, Jessica Ladd-Webert, from the Office of Victim Assistance (OVA), and Valerie Simons, Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC) and Title IX Coordinator.
The Town Hall meeting was named for the national It’s On Us anti-sexual assault campaign, of which CU Boulder has actively participated in as part of a broader on-campus campaign of sexual assault education.
“Sexual assault is prevalent on college campuses,” said Chelsea Canada, the CU Student Government President of External Affairs, in an opening statement. “I think it is important for students to have the resources to support not only themselves, but their peers.”
The meeting provided a space for students and facilitators alike to explore different options for survivors of sexual assault. According to Jessica Ladd-Webert, the support given depends on whether the survivor is looking for confidential counseling or a report to a legal authority.
“What’s really important to know is that we are a confidential resource,” she said of the OVA, which is the primary CU institution that deals with emotional trauma affecting survivors of sexual assault. “We also want to make sure people are informed.”
OVA recently launched a confidential reporting website that seeks to make the healing process smoother for survivors.
“We’ve created this website, confidential reporting, where you can go and say ‘This is what has happened to me, and this is how I feel about it,’” said Ladd-Webert. “We exist for you.”
One thing all campus institutions share is an effort in trying to make the healing process as smooth as possible for survivors.
“We really have a goal in mitigating the impact of trauma,” said Ladd-Webert.
The CU Police Department responds to allegations of sexual assault on campus and takes priority on initial investigations and gathering of evidence. CUPD also publishes annual on-campus crime reports, and sends timely reports to students when on-campus crimes occur.
Chief Zak emphasized the importance of eliminating barriers like social stigma, distrust of police, and fear of unknown consequences that can deter a survivor from reporting their sexual assault.
“What shift you are seeing in the CUPD … is putting the survivor back in the driver’s seat,” said Zak, referring to the feeling of helplessness that can continue to affect a survivor into the recovery process.
The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC), led by Valerie Simons, mainly reviews allegations of violations of the student code of conduct, which include sexual assault.
One initiative OIEC is taking to smooth the process for survivors is working with Boulder hospitals to train nurses in sexual assault training. The program, called Sexual Assault Nurse Examination (SANE), allows sexual assault survivors to receive treatment in Boulder, whereas previously a survivor would have had to travel to Longmont.
“This partnership (SANE) with the university, county, the city, is huge,” said Zak.
Although campus institutions are working hard to make the process as survivor-focused as possible, many of the same barriers to reporting sexual assault exist regardless of institutional adjustments.
“It can be very overwhelming,” Zak said, speaking of the process as a whole.
“Currently our systems are not effective,” said Nieve Heskin, an International Affairs major at CU present at the meeting. “They are not being noticed, so I think it is very important for us to build those up and really create a community where people are healthy and informed.”
If you have thoughts on how CU institutions can get more survivors to report their assaults, or want to participate in the ongoing discussion, you can contact the Office of Victims Assistance at (303)-492-8855 or at http://cuvictimassistance.com.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grant Stringer at grant.stringer@colorado.edu.
