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External Article Links of Interest
Breaking it Down: What to Do if You Experience Sexual Harassment or Assault at the UW?
Gather Evidence: Regardless of where you, on a school campus, at home, at work, whenever you experience sexual harassment or a sexual assault evidence is key. You will be asked to describe the incident(s) in detail so the more information you record the better. Keep this information separate from your journal/diary (you will likely be asked to provide the entire notebook and you don’t really want someone to be able to see your thoughts about your fight with your parents or some other private piece of information). If the assailant sends you emails, save the emails both electronically and in a print form. If you are raped, get treatment. This is good advice regardless of whether you want to press charges (and no one can require you to get report in order to get treatment). You should get tested for pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases. Harborview Medical Center has a Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress Center (they have a crisis line for immediate help at (206) 744-1600).
Reporting to the University: If your harasser is a student, you should contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 206-543-4972 and in all other cases call the University Ombudsman and Ombudsman for Sexual Harassment at 206-543-0283 or 206-543-6028, or the University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office at 206-616-2028.The complaint must describe in writing the alleged act or acts, identify the person or persons purportedly responsible, and indicate the date or approximate date on which the discriminatory or harassing act or acts occurred.
Accommodations: The University needs to make accommodations to ensure
to protect your physical safety, your privacy, and your ability to continue to
be involved in activities, sports, and work-study. It is good to go into a
meeting with some ideas of what you think the best solutions for you would be.
For example, if you are being sexually harassed by a professor or a teaching
assistant, the school should accommodate your need to transfer out of the class
and not have it reflect negatively on your transcript. If you are being
harassed or stalked in a residence hall you can request to have your housing
reassigned or the assailants housing reassigned.
Due Process: This is a term you are likely to encounter. Due process is a valuable tool to ensure that the process of reviewing and investigating a complaint is fair and unbiased. Due process does protect the rights of the accused, but at heart it also protects the rights of victims. If proper procedures are set-up as a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault, you will know exactly what the steps are throughout the process, what will have to be proved and the potential outcomes. Possible standard outcomes when a violation of the student code of conduct is found include probation or expulsion. With probation, the assailant is typically allowed to stay on campus but may be monitored.[i]
Consider going to the police: Sexual assault, stalking, and certain forms of harassment are crimes. You have the ability to go to the police in addition to or in lieu of going through University procedures.
Get Support: Support services are available at the UW and in King County. Use these services (see the additional resources for some suggestions). You do not need to go through this experience alone. Even if you feel comfortable turning to your friends for support, turning to organizations trained in these issues will likely provide you with some tools for self-care and safety planning that you may not have thought of.
Remember, every person has a right to attend the University in a safe atmosphere. You have a right not to sexually harassed, assaulted, or stalked and there is no such thing as “asking for it.” Bottom line, sexual assault, sexual harassment, etc., are forms of violence and they are about power, control, and oppression. Most assailants have multiple victims so as terrible as it is on a personal level, in many ways it is not about you. It is not your fault and you deserve to be protected by the University and by the law.
Sexual Harassment Home Page Defining Sexual Harassment Laws Regarding Sexual Harassment Information About Protection Orders Additional Resources UW Policies and Information Information about what other colleges do Breaking it Down: What to Do if You Experience Sexual Harassment or Assault at the UW?