This April, the University of Idaho has several events and activities planned to raise awareness and advocacy for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. All students, staff and faculty are welcome to attend these events, coordinated by campus staff, to learn more about how to be an effective ally to survivors of sexual assault, domestic assault, and other forms of interpersonal violence.
On Tuesday, the Office of Civil Rights and Investigations, affiliates of on-campus violence prevention programs and the Women’s Center collaborated to host “Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence in a Culturally Responsive Manner.”
This 90-minute virtual training was a speaking presentation and interactive workshop open to all students, faculty and staff wanting to learn more about how to appropriately respond to disclosures and admittances of sexual violence from culturally diverse individuals, taking into account their intersectional identities when receiving this type of sensitive information.
In September 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded the Women’s Center a continuation grant of almost $300,000 to fund the Campus Violence Prevention Project for a further three years, according to the grant’s informational page. Funding from the grant allowed for coordinators of the presentation to adapt the content to include more diverse themes and topics, as well as appeal to a wider audience.
“The first time we did the adaptive version was fall of 2020, adapting it to take into consideration the impact of intersecting identities, and helping staff and faculty learn to be culturally responsive,” Emilie McLarnan, the Associate Director of Violence Prevention Programs for the Dean of Students, said. “And taking into consideration those aspects of a student’s experience that might impact their disclosure and how they proceed after disclosure.”
Participants in this training were able to interact with each other and the speakers by using the virtual chat, responding to polls and taking part in breakout rooms to discuss scenarios and strategies responding to disclosures of sexual violence.
Mclarnan, Erin Agidius, the Title IX Coordinator for the Office of Civil Rights and Investigations and Julia Keleher, the Director of the LGBTQA Office were the presenters of this training, opening up the session by asking the participants about their perceptions, questions, and concerns surrounding the conversation of sexual assault.
Following this, the presenters informed the participants on the importance of self-care when discussing these sensitive topics, giving advice and tips on how to best care for oneself to maintain a healthy mental and physical state.
As per law, the presenters were obligated to inform their audience about their status as mandatory reporters, or individuals who are legally required to inform authorities on reported incidences of violence where one or more persons may be endangered.
As well, they discussed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, commonly known simply as Title IX.
Title IX “protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance,” according to the U.S Department of Education’s website.
Erin Agidius then explained the University of Idaho’s Title IX process, including filing a report or complaint and the different circumstances and legal consequences of filing such reports.
Participants were also directed to the VandalCare portal, an online resource through UI’s website where students can file several different types of reports concerning campus and individual safety, including an option to report instances of sexual misconduct. Participants can also access more information on violence prevention programs, sexual misconduct and sexual harassment through this portal.
Julia Keleher, the Director of the LGBTQ Office on campus, then informed participants on the AIRR acronym, standing for Assess, Inform, Refer and Report, or the order of actions to take when informed on instances of sexual violence.
Keleher also provided guidance on how to appropriately engage in conversations with culturally diverse individuals when speaking about experiences of sexual assault, taking into account their unique identities when listening and providing resources to give the best support possible.
“(The training covered) thinking of the extra layers of identity that are on top of (disclosing), and also the incorporation of how to help students and (define) the best proper practices,” Keleher said. “Also, talking about using inclusive language and being supportive of all students… it’s really part of that whole process where we talk about diversity and inclusion in a larger way.”
Participants were then placed into small breakout rooms to discuss different scenarios concerning a culturally diverse individual’s experience with sexual violence, and strategies on how to properly respond to the situation.
Breakout room scenarios included responding to disclosures from students with LGBTQ+, international, Latinx and tribal identities. Other examples, among many, of cultural diversity include those who identify as disabled or first-generation American, those who belong to an organized religion or individuals who do not speak English as their first or only language.
Dakota Kidder, the Coordinator for the Native American Student Center and previous Title IX investigator, registered for the training and participated in these breakout rooms at the conclusion of the presentation due to her involvement with the Center and Native American students on campus.
“I thought it would be interesting to hear what advice, or what best practices were out there that I could do when responding to reports of sexual assault or sexual violence or interpersonal violence,” Kidder said.
Kidder plans to incorporate the training into her role as the Coordinator of the Center and a mandatory reporter on campus.
The speakers concluded the presentation aspect of the training by providing examples of local, national, confidential and non-confidential resources for survivors of sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence.
“We talk about the complexities of (cultural diversity) and the things that they don’t necessarily need to know and analyze, but that helps give (the disclose) insight on why there might be barriers for people to come forward, why we might want to make sure we get them connected with other confidential resources, why folks might not even want to engage or report at all,” Agidius said. “(We are) trying to really give as much insight as possible.”
Katarina Hockema can be reached at [email protected]