Cases of rape and sexual assault on college campuses continue to gain national attention, often because university administrations mishandle the reports. It’s important that universities constantly work toward ways to prevent such violent abuse.

But first, it is necessary to be sensitive to the needs of these victims before using their private information to go after perpetrators.

Syracuse University is enforcing a policy that disables the Advocacy Center from remaining a confidential service for students who have been affected by sexual and relationship violence. It’s meant to be proactive regarding Title IX, a law that prohibits gender discrimination in any equity educational program that receives federal funding.

The university’s policy is problematic in that it enables limited information to be shared to help check for patterns of repeat offenders. While the victim’s name is not allowed to be shared, his or her identity can still get out. The name of the perpetrator or location of the assault can easily lead back to the victim, which, in most cases, is not what the victim wants.

This change in policy could possibly discourage students from coming to the Advocacy Center, which would be incredibly sad, as the center can still help students.

University officials must understand, however, that keeping the Advocacy Center completely confidential would allow students to continue to view the center as a valuable resource.

It takes courage for a survivor to share his or her story with a trusted confidant. It is also a personal and emotional process to decide if he or she wants to report information to authorities. A support system during this time is helpful when assisting the survivor in making whatever choices he or she wants to make.

Options for releasing information about sexual assault should be decided solely by the survivor of the assault, not the Title IX coordinator or any other university administrators.

Members of the university’s administration have come across as insensitive toward the needs of survivors of sexual assault or rape by advising them to go to “privileged” resources like the Counseling Center or the Vera House. While both are helpful institutions, they are not substitutions for the Advocacy Center, which has trained professionals who are best equipped to deal with these issues, and is also located on campus.

Students should be involved in decisions relating to services that directly affect them.

The Advocacy Center has created a community of caring individuals who work to prevent violence and promote respect. Advocacy Center student volunteers have put time and effort into understanding the issues of sexual and relationship violence on campus.

Unfortunately, they were not given the opportunity to provide input on the policy changes relating to Title IX. Their opinions would have been incredibly beneficial.

The university needs to conduct a dialogue with students to find better ways to look into factors of sexual assault and create courses of action to prevent it. One approach to getting information could be through general surveys to find patterns in these crimes. This would still ensure confidentiality and anonymity.

A college campus must have a safe space where victims of sexual assault and relationship violence can get the skilled and individualized attention they deserve. SU is unique in having the Advocacy Center as a place to deal with these issues, specifically.

For the university to interfere with any of the great advantages to this resource is unfair to our campus and its students.

Laura Cohen is a junior magazine journalism and women’s and gender studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected].

Published on October 2, 2013 at 2:51 am