A new webpage highlighting all resources available to survivors of sexual violence was launched Tuesday by Dartmouth’s Title IX coordinator and Clery Act compliance officer Heather Lindkvist. The website was announced in an email sent to the Dartmouth community Tuesday afternoon that also detailed changes in policy regarding the confidentiality of resources on campus.
The page, titled Sexual Respect, contains information on Title IX, the Clery Act and a comprehensive guide to policies and procedures regarding sexual and domestic violence at the College. In addition, it features resources that can be found on and off campus for survivors of sexual assault, dating violence or gender-based violence. The website also defines terminology used by the College’s unified sexual assault policy and provides information on how to report an incident.
The site consolidates information that was previously scattered over many of the College’s websites, Lindkvist said in an interview with The Dartmouth. The website aims to be a central portal for communication by making all information regarding sexual, dating and gender-based violence available in one place, she said. The site also redirects students to other programs such as WISE, Sexual Assault Peer Advisors and the Sexual Assault Awareness Program. She said that she hopes this centralization will lead to increased transparency about policy and resources at the College.
Tori Nevel ’16, a WISE @ Dartmouth member and chair of the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault, also said that the site meets a clear need on campus. Nevel emphasized the importance of information and ease of access for survivors.
“There has to be a consolidated resource for people who have experienced sexual assault,” Nevel said. “They might not know the difference between WISE and SAPAs, the pros and cons of each different thing. Keeping all the information updated and in one place is so important.”
Most outreach by support groups is conducted through each individual program, SAAP coordinator Amanda Childress said. Through program websites, campus-wide blitzes and direct outreach through orientation programming and undergraduate advisors, supporting resources aim to connect with survivors, Childress said. With the launch of the new website, she said she hopes that the administrative support Lindkvist’s office provides will be better tied in to the counseling resources provided by SAAP.
Lindkvist also said that the website aims to clarify the reporting obligations of various resources at the College. For survivors, conversations with any specific resource are categorized as either private or confidential. Private resources are obligated to share disclosures of sexual assault and gender-based harassment on a need-to-know basis or as required by law. They are also required to report these incidents to Lindkvist in her role as the Title IX coordinator. Confidential resources, in contrast, may not share information without the express consent of the individual. The only exceptions are in the case of imminent danger to either the individual or others, or as required by law, such as in the case of sexual violence against minors.
Conversations with SAAP have changed from being a confidential resource to a private resource, Childress said. The change mirrors a national shift from confidential toward private resources for survivors on campus, she added. While SAAP and on-campus resources were confidential by the College, Childress said that they were not considered legally privileged communication by the state of New Hampshire.
“It’s very confusing for a student who might think you’re confidential all of the time,” Childress said. “If they wanted to take the case forward, we would not have the same privilege. In order to clear up some of those concerns, we thought it would be better to have a separation between confidential and legally privileged sources.”
Nevel stressed the importance of having legally confidential sources available to students. WISE at Dartmouth functions independently from the College. Students involved in the process go through 30 hours of training to be certified by the state of New Hampshire to provide counseling and support as a legally privileged source. As such, Nevel said that WISE volunteers maintain true confidentiality and are not obligated to report statistics to the College.
“If a survivor wants to talk to somebody they know they won’t have to see again, or someone who isn’t required to report them as to Clery numbers, WISE is available to them,” Nevel said. “Sometimes survivors need to talk about their experience with someone they won’t see again so they won’t be reminded of that conversation.”
Lindkvist said that she hopes the website will demystify the reporting process. A common misconception, she noted, was that reporting an incident would necessarily trigger an investigation. An investigation is only launched if the individual reporting an incident decides to pursue one, Lindkvist said. The Sexual Respect website outlines the process of reporting and the options individuals have moving forward, whether through outside legal means or through the College.
This information, Lindkvist said, will hopefully lead to increased comfort with reporting incidents. The only instance in which an individual’s decision not to pursue an investigation must be weighed against the safety of the community is in the case of multiple reports against a single perpetrator, she said. Lindkvist also noted that if more incidents are reported, repeat perpetrators will be easier to catch.
In the wake of new plans to combat sexual assault announced in College President Phil Hanlon’s Moving Dartmouth Forward address last Thursday, Lindkvist said she saw a clear intersection between those initiatives and the launch of the new website. The site would enable the College to better serve students as a conduit for information and resources about the initiatives Hanlon announced.
“It really reinforces his vision, a connection to the objectives he’s put forward,” Lindkvist said. “Everyone in our community can be influenced by sexual violence or intimate partner violence in some way. We want to enhance our support structures and opportunities so we can create a stronger culture of reporting.”
