Resources at Centre

The College offers assistance and non-judgmental support to any party involved in an incident of sexual misconduct.

Confidential resources include the counseling staff, the student health center staff, and the Chaplain. Off-campus mental health providers and resources like Ampersand are also confidential providers since they do not report to the college.

Private resources include faculty, staff, residence directors, resident assistants, and athletics staff, who are mandatory reporters and must make a report to the Title IX coordinator if they are made aware of an instance of sexual misconduct. This does not mean that an investigation will automatically take place. Even if the college decides they have an obligation to pursue an investigation due to certain factors, the survivor will be able to opt out of participating.

One benefit of talking to someone at the college about your experience is that you can receive support and accommodations. If you need to switch classes or move to a different residence hall, that can be facilitated through both confidential and private resources.

Statement Regarding Privacy and Confidentiality

Centre is committed to protecting the privacy of every individual involved in a report of sexual misconduct. In every report under this policy, every effort will be made to protect the privacy interests of all individuals involved in a manner consistent with the need for a thorough review of the allegation.

The privacy of the parties will always be respected and safeguarded. College employees who are involved in Centre’s Title IX response receive specific training and guidance about safeguarding private information. This includes the Title IX coordinator, investigators, and adjudicators.

Under Centre’s sexual misconduct policy, privacy and confidentiality have different standards.

Privacy means that information about a report will only be shared on a “need-to know” basis with certain College employees to assist in the review, investigation, and resolution of the report. These individuals will be discreet and respectful in protecting the information of all involved parties.

Confidentiality means that information about sexual misconduct shared by a student cannot be revealed to anyone else without the express permission of the reporting student except where there is immediate and serious concern about the safety of the student or others in the community.

If you want to talk to someone confidentially about sexual misconduct, consider this:

  • Centre counselors and the Chaplain will treat your report completely confidentially with the exception of immediate and serious concern about the safety of the student or others in the community.
  • Student Health staff will report that an incident of sexual misconduct occurred but will not include any identifying information unless there is immediate and serious concern about the safety of the student or others in the community.
  • All other college employees are required to report all they know of an incident of sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator.

Outside Resources

 

We recognize that individuals hold many identities that intersect in unique ways and influence their experiences with sexual misconduct. The following resources aim to provide culturally competent services for people who want specialized information.

Resources for People of Color

API Chaya: API Chaya staff and trained volunteers are available to offer support, referrals, information, safety planning, and also simply to listen, on our confidential helpline. Their toll-free helpline number is 1-877-922-4292 (1-877-92-CHAYA). Languages offered: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Hindi.

StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-7NATIVE) – The StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-762-8483) is a safe, anonymous and confidential service for Native Americans affected by domestic violence and dating violence. Advocates are available at no cost 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST, 7 days a week when you are ready to reach out. StrongHearts offers immediate peer-to-peer support, crisis intervention, safety planning and referrals to culturally-appropriate resources.

Black Women's Blueprint runs a hotline for victims of sexual violence

LGBTQIA+ Resources

The Trevor Project offers a 24/7 support line specifically for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. They also have an online counseling chat service and a texting service you may access by texting START to 678678.

Abusive LGBTQIA+ Relationships: One in three young people — straight, gay and everyone in between — experience some form of dating abuse. LGBTQIA+ students can face obstacles to seeking help. 

Title IX Protections for LGBTQIA+ Students: Title IX protects LGBTQIA+ survivors, too — and it also provides important protections to LGBTQ students who face widespread bullying and harassment that can impede their access to education. Research indicates that nearly half of all transgender people and bisexual women experience sexual violence during their lifetime.

Human Rights Campaign: LGBTQIA+-friendly resources: The Human Rights Campaign addresses sexual assault and the LGBTQIA+ community. A list of LGBTQIA+-friendly hotlines and chat support are listed at the end of the article.

The Network/La Red’s 24-hour hotline 617-742-4911 provides confidential emotional support, information, referrals, safety planning, and crisis intervention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and/or transgender (LGBQ/T) folks, as well as folks in SM/kink and polyamorous communities who are being abused or have been abused by a partner. We also offer information and support to friends, family, or co-workers on the issue of domestic violence in LGBQ/T communities. All hotline staff are trained in domestic violence, peer counseling, crisis intervention, and safety planning. You don’t have to leave or want to leave your relationship to get support.

FORGE's Self-Help Guide to Healing for Trans Survivors: This is a comprehensive resource that addresses the nuances of experiencing sexual violence as a trans person, talks about common misconceptions, and gives survivors resources and tips for healing. A partner guide for partners and friends of trans survivors can be found here.

FORGE's A Transgender Survivor’s Guide to Accessing Therapy: Provides information about different ways to heal after sexual violence and how to go about locating a therapist.

Resources for Immigrants

Title IX and Immigration: This resource from Know Your IX provides information for international and undocumented students.

Your rights as a student: Undocumented Survivors: End Rape on Campus outlines rights for undocumented survivors. EROC says, "Coupled with the fear of immigration-related problems, sexual violence can often seem insurmountable for undocumented survivors, as well as survivors with undocumented perpetrators. Know that you are not alone, and you do have rights and resources."

Your rights as a student: International Survivors: End Rape on Campus outlines rights for International Students.

Resources for People with Disabilities

The National Domestic Violence Hotline has IM/email, video phone/TTY, and live chat services for people who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing.

Study Abroad

Pathways to Safety: This is an organization that helps people who are assaulted while abroad by guiding them through the processes and help them make decisions about next steps.

International Directory of Domestic Violence Agencies This website can help you find a resource near you in more than 110 languages.

Dating Violence

Love is Respect has many resources for people experiencing dating violence, including an interactive safety planning tool, advocate call/chat/texting options, and information about who you can turn to for support.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: This website has information about identifying abuse and seeking help. They offer an online chat tool in English and Spanish.

Protective Order Basics: The Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence outlines the basics of protective orders: Where can I get one? What will happen if I go to school with the respondent? Are they free? Who can file for an Interpersonal Protective Order?

Healthy Relationships

OneLove: OneLove works to end relationship abuse and was founded after the brutal death of Yeardley Love, a UVA lacrosse player. OneLove has information on healthy relationships and signs of unhealthy ones. Their OneLove ap can be downloaded, and it will help reflect on your own relationship, see potential red flags, and if needed will help you make a plan to leave. OneLove's #ThatsNotLove campaign has lots of tools (videos, bookmarks, and playlists) that call attention to the unhealthy ways love is depicted in pop culture.

Healthy Relationships: What is Consent?:

Consent Discussion Guide: It's On Us is a national movement active on over 500 campuses to end sexual assault with an excellent discussion guide to help you understand and reflect on consent.

Saying No When You Really, Really, Really Want to Say Yes: ScarletTeen writes about those tough sexual situations that you want to say yes to but you should probably say no to because it may cause harm to you or another person down the road.

Love is Respect: Love is Respect is overflowing with love, support, and good advice. Relationship quizzes may help you see red flags of abuse, but may simply guide you to being a better partner. There are resources on setting boundaries, communicating better, or having good sex and resources if you're experiencing or have experienced abused. They have many ways to reach out for help 24/7: a hotline (Call 1-866-331-9474), online chat, and text (Text loveis to 22522*).

Supporting Survivors

Supporting Survivors: Tips for friends, family, and educators of survivors from Know Your IX.

How to Respond to a Survivor: A supportive reaction can make all the difference, but that doesn’t mean it comes easy. RAINN provides a guide to managing your emotions and helpful guidance when a loved one discloses sexual violence to you.

Pandora's Project Chatrooms: Pandora's Project offers peer support to anyone who has been a victim of rape, sexual assault, or sexual abuse through an online support group, Pandora's Aquarium. They believe that connecting with other rape and sexual abuse survivors is an important part of healing. Their online support group includes a message board, chat room, and blogs. It is free to participate and is moderated by a diverse group of survivors. There are also specific chatrooms for male and LGBT survivors.


Providing Support

Every person reacts differently to trauma—There is no "right" way to react to sexual violence.

Some people might completely shut down and seem blank; some might cry; some might want to act like nothing happened and go back to "normal." How a person feels one minute, one hour, one day, isn't how they'll always feel as they continue to process what has happened.

It can be difficult to know what to do or say to help when someone you care about is struggling with hard emotions like confusion, anger, blame, sadness, fear, helplessness. But there are ways for you to give support.

Supporting Your Friend

When a friend is in pain or in need, our first instinct is to help. But what is the best way to help a friend who has experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, or relationship violence?

What to Say

The single most important thing you can do to help your friend is to believe them and offer support. Your friend is vulnerable, and your reaction can influence whether they choose to share information with others, including the police or mental and physical health counseling services.

  • Believe and let them know that you are glad they felt comfortable sharing this with you.
  • Assure and reassure them that what happened was not their fault. Self-blame and self-doubt are common reactions of victims of sexual violence.

What to Do

Reacting or acting in a supportive way can help your friend feel safe.

  • Be calm. If you are in crisis, the victim or survivor may feel the need to take care of you rather than themselves. Be aware of the importance of separating your own experiences and emotions.
  • Listen and don’t judge. Let them decide what and how much information they want to share with you.
  • Be informed. Learn about the services available at Centre and in Danville and be able to assist them in connecting to resources. You can call any of the resources on campus to ask them about the services they provide--friends often make the first outreach to support services, helping the victim feel more comfortable with connecting to the College's support options.
  • Encourage. If they choose to report to law enforcement or the college, support them in those choices. Offer to go with them to speak to the Title IX Coordinator or to the Police.

Get Support

Supporting someone who is in pain can take a toll on your own mental health and well-being. Remember to take care of yourself. Every resource available to victims is also available to you too.

Supporting Your Child

As a parent, learning that your son or daughter was the victim of sexual violence can be incredibly overwhelming. Feeling rage, helplessness, guilt, anguish, fear, and anxiety is natural. You might feel the urge to hurry up and “fix” things even when you know that’s probably not possible. Here are some guidelines to help you support your student’s recovery.

What to Say

  • Believe and let them know that you are glad they felt comfortable sharing this with you. Speaking out is often very difficult for a victim. Your reaction can strongly influence whether or not they choose to share information with others, including the police, the university or mental and physical health counseling services.
     
  • Assure and reassure them that what happened was not their fault. Self-blame and self-doubt are common reactions of victims of sexual violence.

What to Do

  • Listen. It might feel like a role-reversal, but in this situation, as a parent, your job is to listen actively and non-judgmentally. Let your student control what and how much information they want to share with you. Digging for every detail can overwhelm or alienate them. Tell them you are there to listen and support them.
     
  • Accept that your student might not have come to you before their friends, professors, college administration, counselors, or others. Don’t put them on the defense. What matters is that they came to you now. Now is the time to support them and help them heal.
     
  • Allow your student to decide the next steps. There is no way to undo the past. Victim-survivors of sexual violence, relationship violence, and stalking need to maintain the ability to control the next steps and their personal healing process. Where possible, offer guidance and information about available resources and additional support, but let them choose.
     
  • Control Your Emotions. It is natural to grieve with your student but try to control your emotions when talking about what happened. It’s hard for a student to see their parent struggle or lose emotional control, and they might feel guilt or shame for sharing their situation with you.

Get Support

Seek out support for yourself. Neglecting your own emotional, mental and physical health to take care of your student will make it more difficult for you to support your student. Many of the resources available to your student are available to you too.

Supporting Your Student

As an employee at Centre, you have an obligation to report any incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, or relationship violence that you either witness or are disclosed to you by students. In no event should the disclosing victim be told that your conversation will be confidential. You can report disclosures online here: Make a Report or call the Title IX Coordinator at 859-238-5881.

Faculty members are in a unique position to provide care to our students. You see students on a continual basis, so you are able to see changes in student behavior, such as:

  • Increased emotions or anxiety
  • Decline in academic performance
  • Chronic absenteeism

All of these can be signs that a student is experiencing stress or crisis, like a sexual assault. Your care can help connect a student to the resources that they need.
 

Academic Accommodations for Survivors

  • Students who experience sexual violence may need accommodations in their classes, including:
  • They may miss class for appointments with counseling or the police.
  • They may require extensions on assignments.
  • They may have safety concerns that impact their seating arrangements.

Either your student or someone involved in the Title IX process will speak with you about these needs, and it is the expectation of every faculty member to provide reasonable accommodations to help remedy the effects of sexual assault.

Sexual violence should not stand in the way of a student's success. Your support can ensure that does not happen.

Respondent Support

Being accused of any violation of the college policy is difficult. In sexual violence cases, it can be particularly hard to process. Just as friends might turn to you if they are a victim of sexual violence, a friend might confide in you that they have been accused of committing sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, or relationship violence. Knowing how to support an accused individual—or, respondent—can be hard.

If someone accused of sexual violence turns to you for help, here are some ways you can provide support:

  • Listen actively and without judgment. Listening isn’t condoning what may or may not have happened. You don’t need to take sides or even express your opinion at all. Just listen.
  • Learn more about sexual violence and the conduct process to help sort out your feelings as well as better support your friend.
  • Direct your friend to resources on campus, like the Counseling Center where they can speak about what they are experiencing and process their feelings. They might feel scared and overwhelmed about the conduct process, so encouraging them to speak to the Title IX Coordinator to learn more about their rights and explain the investigation and adjudication processes can help manage their concerns.

Get Support

As you provide support to your friend, remember that you can best take care of others when you take care of yourself. Supporting someone who is dealing with sexual assault allegations can be confusing and emotionally fraught, so don't hesitate to reach out to those same support resources to get the help you need, too.

A Note on Retaliation

We all can feel deep loyalty to our friends; just like with reported victims of sexual violence, there can be a need to "fix" what your friend is experiencing or "make it go away." You might want to speak to the reporting student or take some action to communicate your support for the respondent. It is important for you to remember that Centre prohibits retaliation against individuals (including the respondent) involved in the reporting, investigation, and adjudication of sexual violence. Also know that your friend might have a "No Contact Order" with the reporting student, so your actions need to respect that order's directives.

If you have any questions or concerns about what constitutes retaliation or about No Contact Orders, contact the Title IX Coordinator.

Information based on resources available at Tulane University.