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Supporting Survivors

Cal Poly Humboldt University

Sexual Assault Prevention Committee (SAPC)

- And Fulfilling your Responsibility as an Employee

**Department of Justice OVW - Campus Grant

Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT) 2021-2024

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Topics to Discuss

in Supporting Survivors

Know Your Role

01

Know Humboldt’s Resources

03

Fulfilling Your Reporting Obligations

04

02

The CSU Training

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1.

Know Your Role?

As a faculty or staff member you don’t have to be a counselor - and its best not to try to be one if you don’t have the expertise.

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All you have to do is:

1.

Make sure you’re up to date on your online CSU training so you can recognize forms of harm and understand your reporting obligations.

2.

Know the resources at Humboldt for student support and response to harm.

3.

Fulfill your responsibilities of reporting.

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Adopt a survivor-centered approach

We provide survivors with information so that they can make informed choices about who they tell, and the support they receive. Survivor gets the choice and the voice.

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2. The CSU training

All employees are required to take CSU’s online Sexual Misconduct Prevention Program (Title IX).

It will give you an overview of dynamics of sexual misconduct (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking) and inform you of your reporting responsibilities as a CSU employee.

But the training doesn’t tell you about Humboldt’s dedicated resources for survivor support, nor how to make a report to fulfill your obligation. That’s what you’ll learn about in the following slides.

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3. Know Humboldt’s Resources

Humboldt’s Campus Advocate Team (CAT)

The Campus Advocate Team (CAT) is...

a resource for students,

staff, and faculty at Humboldt and can be reached 24/7 at (707)445-2881.

a program of the North Coast Rape Crisis Team, and has been contracted by Humbolt to provide specialized services to the Humboldt community.

CAT works with the university, but not for Humboldt.

Who CAT works for is survivors of sexual assault, stalking, dating and domestic violence, and sexual and gender based harassment.

CAT has full privileges of confidentiality.

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What CAT Does...

Support on Campus

Faculty, staff or students who are supporting survivors (students, colleagues, family or friends) can also call for

support.

Reporting Options

Campus Advocate Team also explains options for and the processes of reporting (through the Office of Title IX and UPD); they can help make appointments and accompany survivors who choose to make reports.

CAT provides completely free and confidential support resources to any Humboldt student, staff or faculty member via their

24 hour hotline 707-455-2881 and one-on-one in person* counseling, whether the harm was recent or happened years ago.

Free & Confidential Support

*During this pandemic time, CAT is offering socially distanced in person sessions at their Humboldt campus office, as well as phone sessions.

Know Humboldt’s Resources

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Office of Title IX & Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Prevention

Our Office of Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Prevention provides students, staff and faculty reporting sexual misconduct (including sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and/or gender-based harassment) and other forms of discrimination and harassment with information about and options for campus accommodations, academic support, reporting and confidential support services.

As you know from your CSU online training...

Refer to Title IX using the file a report function on the Title IX website: https://HSU.link/TitleIXReport

Know Humboldt’s Resources

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They work with our Dean of Students Office, Office of Human Resources, and Academic Personnel Services to make sure that reports of harm are responded to as outlined by CSU’s Executive Orders.

Title IX Staff

You can reach out to them with any questions about Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation.

Know Humboldt’s Resources

Office of Title IX & Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Prevention

  • Dave Hickcox, Title IX Coordinator & DHR Prevention Administrator, david.hickcox@humboldt.edu, 707-826-5177
  • Nicki Viso, Title IX Investigator & Clery Director,

Nicki.Viso@humboldt.edu (707) 826-5175

  • Pam Kirschner, Title IX and DHR Prevention Program Analyst, pamela.kirschner@humboldt.edu, (707)826-3385

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1. How do you talk about Campus Advocate Team and the Title IX office?

      • Zoom breakout room.
      • Each partner gets 1 minute to practice.

Practice Exercise #1

2. Report back:

      • How was that?
      • What do you wish you’d known?

Let’s practice referring students to resources.

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Almost all Humboldt employees are required to report incidents of sexual misconduct (sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking and sexual and gender-based harassment).

4. Fulfill your obligation to report

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Fulfill your obligation to report

two ways to report:

There are

1. The best way is to fill out the Sexual Misconduct/Discrimination Report Form or you may contact:

  • David Hickox, Humboldt’s Title IX Coordinator & DHR Prevention Administrator:

Dave.Hickox@humboldt.edu (707) 826-5177

  • Nicki Viso, Title IX Investigator & Clery Director: Nicki.Viso@humboldt.edu (707) 826-5175

2. If there is an emergency, call 911.

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Best Practices:

Talk about limits to Confidentiality

It is important to let students know before they confide in you that you cannot keep their information confidential. Ideally you’ll let them know this in multiple ways (access a Syllabus Statement and Title IX Door Sign and under Humboldt’s Title IX Resources for Faculty and Staff).

Redirect

If they decide they want to talk with someone confidentially, refer them to our Campus Advocate Team (707)445-2881, and let them know C.A.T. can explain all their options for accountability, and provide direct support in terms of counseling and advocacy.

Interrupt

It is best practice to interrupt someone and make sure that they understand your responsibility to report, and your inability to honor requests for keeping their information confidential.

Fulfill your obligation to report

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Keep the survivor’s needs at the center of the process

  • Listen and believe
  • Let the survivor know that you care
  • Don’t overly express your own feelings about what happened to them.
  • Don’t define their experience for them
  • Validate that what happened to them was not ok.

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Establish clear boundaries

  • Offer forms of support that are appropriate for your role

  • Don’t promise more than you can actually offer.

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If you want to understand why interrupting someone who is about to confide in you is best practice or get more practice, email Ana Bernal ana.bernal@humboldt.edu to access registration for a

1-hour training.

You’ll learn about survivor-centered approaches to responding to people in crisis and learn how to

best support survivors while also fulfilling your requirement to report.

Fulfill your obligation to report

Best Practices:

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University Police Department (UPD)

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services offers support for survivors of dating and domestic violence in our community: 24/7 phone line (707) 443-6042.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Counseling and Psychological Services offers support groups for student survivors, individual counseling sessions, and 24/7 phone support (707) 826-3236. Some CAPS counselors have specialized training in trauma and sexualized and intimate partner violence (all CAT counselors have this expertise).

Additional Campus and Community Resources

UPD may be referred to by the Campus Advocate Team or Title IX if a survivor requests. UPD can be a resource for safety and/or accountability through the criminal/legal system. If there is imminent danger or UPD is available to respond: call 911.

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Summary:

If a student discloses to you that they were subject to sexual assault, intimate partner violence or stalking while a student at Humboldt,

or if a student discloses that they committed sexual assault, intimate partner violence or stalking while a student at Humboldt;

follow the protocols for reporting to Title IX.

When are you required to report?

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Cal Poly Humboldt University

Sexual Assault Prevention Committee (SAPC))

Supporting Survivors

- And Fulfilling your Responsibility as an Employee

www.supportingsurvivors.humboldt.edu

For more information on joining the SAPC Committee

or to schedule an on-campus training:

Ana Bernal

ana.bernal@humboldt.edu

This project was partially supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-21-GG-01044-CAMP awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women