Mandatory sexual harassment training coming to campus
A new federal law has passed, known as the Campus Sexual Violence Act (Campus SaVE), requiring all universities to have a consistent sexual harassment policy to ensure that every university responds quickly to any allegations and takes appropriate actions.
In compliance with the law, UHCL is making changes to its sexual harassment policy, known as Title IX (Sexual Misconduct Policy), requiring all new students to participate in a mandatory sexual harassment training. A training video will be made available in the near future and will be provided online as a link.
“The sexual harassment video is in the making and, at first, the training will be optional, but at some point it will be mandatory,” stated Darlene Biggers, associate vice president for student services. “The goal is to protect students and educate them about sexual misconduct, and to provide a means to quickly and fairly handle any infractions of the law.”
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), reports 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. More than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault.
Joyce Delores Taylor, internship director and lecturer for HSH, commented that it may be difficult for many students to come forward and report that they are victims of sexual misconduct because of who the person doing the harassment is.
“It could be a professor, an administrator, a vendor, another student, or even a friend,” Taylor said. “Sexual harassment has no barrier on gender, race, sexual orientation and social stigma. It can happen, male to female, male to male, female to female, or female to male.”
Taylor is passionate about spreading awareness on sexual misconduct. She educates her intern students on sexual harassment and workplace harassment, and also directed and acted in several versions of “The Vagina Monologues” to help spread awareness. “The Vagina Monologues” is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler that raises awareness for sex, relationships and violence against women.
Colden Snow, senior secretary for the Office of Orientation and New Student Programs, participated in the Vagina Monologues as an actor in the last production and learned the importance of being educated on sexual harassment as well as the importance of being supportive to those who are victims of sexual misconduct.
“Even though mandatory trainings can be tedious and annoying, it is important to be informed and to pay attention because it is good to be sensitive and knowledgeable on this subject matter,” Snow said.
If students become a victim of sexual harassment, they are encouraged to report it. Reporting incidences of sexual harassment also helps prevent other students from becoming victims. Likewise, students are strongly encouraged to immediately report any sexual misconduct that they witness. Anyone who needs to file a report can contact UHCL’s Title IX Coordinator Nicole Eslinger.
Another resource available on the UHCL campus is the Safe Zone Program sponsored by The Office of Intercultural Student Services. The program was created to respond to the needs of the UHCL community and provide a safe and supportive environment for LGBT students, staff, administrators and faculty. The Office of Student Life, The Signal and Taylor’s office are all allies of the Safe Zone Program.
Two Title IX (Sexual Misconduct) Trainings will be held Oct. 7 in the Bayou Building Garden Room, B1510. The first training will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and the second training will from 2 to 3:30 p.m. No sign up is required, and the training is not part of the mandatory training, but attendance is strongly encouraged.
