SUPPORTS AND BARRIERS TO SURVIVOR EMPOWERMENT Tricia B. Bent-Goodley, Ph.D., MSW, LICSW Professor & Chair, Community, Administration & Policy Practice Sequence Project Director, Campus Safety First Project (CSFP) Howard University School of Social Work Presented at Campus Sexual Assault Policy: Problems and Progress October 25, :00 am - 1:00 pm University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan

Realities of the Contemporary College Campus 2  Understand the culture of the campus  Conduct a SWOT analysis of the campus and community environment – look at accessibility  Identify who is your student and the diversity within that student population  Acknowledge that students bring a variety of issues to the campus community  Recognize what you don’t bring so you can acquire what is missing  Distinguish communication patterns on your campus

Acknowledge the Barriers and Opportunities  Not all relationships are heterosexual  Recognize the developmental stages on your campus  Understand the diversity on your campus – remember cultural competence is a reflection of concrete skills on the individual, organizational and policy level  Examine beliefs about law enforcement  Understand the nature of racial loyalty  Be honest about myths and stereotypes  Recognize the stigma associated with getting help  Identify help-seeking challenges 3

Acknowledge the Barriers and Opportunities  Explore how technology and social media are impacting the culture of the campus  Identify language barriers – all types of language barriers  Understand the impact of diverse religious and faith- based backgrounds  Recognize the role of historical trauma  Understand the nature of reporting and what that means 4

5  So what am I supposed to do with all of this information?

Selected Steps  Know the pertinent laws (i.e., Title IX, Clery)  Know the pertinent laws (this is not a typo )  Document what you are doing and its connection to what you should be doing  Ask students – different types of students – including males 6

More Selected Steps  Build relationships on and off campus  Frame the issue in a way that makes sense for the campus – they need to understand why they should be invested  All of this must happen before you even get to the barriers 7

Supports to Survivor Empowerment  Create a campus community that is invested in the issue  Create off-campus opportunities for students to get help  Have a protocol in place and making sure that students know it  Institute prevention efforts 8

Supports to Survivor Empowerment  Provide a culturally competent response – if you don’t students will know it and they will not seek your help  Support the student where they are at  Conduct bystander prevention education  Create opportunities for healing 9

We Are the Change……

Contact Information 11  Dr. Tricia Bent-Goodley