CONTENT WARNING: The following story contains discussions of sexual violence and misconduct. Reader discretion is advised.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. If you or a loved one are assaulted or harassed, Drury has procedures in place to seek action, reach compromises and most importantly, protect the victim. The information discussed in this article can be found on Drury’s website, under the “Human Resources” tab.

Title IX is the section of legislature that prohibits the discrimination and limitation of equal opportunities based on gender identity in an educational setting. Sexual harassment and violence are described as acts violating Title IX.

According to RAINN, or The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, only 310 of every 1000 cases of sexual assault are reported in any way. As we have seen in cases like those of Brett Kavanaugh and Bill Cosby, all it takes is one survivor to come out with their testimony to give other survivors the courage to do the same. Remember, the decision to report is that of the victim, and not anyone else, so if someone has come to you with their story, respect that they might not end up reporting to authorities. If the act of reporting inspires fear or discomfort, the victim needs to seek out methods that will lead toward healing.

Of course, reporting a case to the Title IX office is not mandatory, nor is it punishable if found to be unreported. However, one important thing to note is Drury staff and faculty are “mandatory reporters,” meaning they are obliged to tell the university if one has plans to harm themselves or others, or have been part of an assault on campus. While daunting, the university maintains this policy to ensure the victim can go to the university for support and accommodation.

Once the report is filed with Paul Hinkle (phinkle@drury.edu) in the Title IX office, you are given options: you can either tell your testimony to the campus police, who will open an investigation into whether the sanctions of Title IX were broken, or you can file a report solely for the coordinator’s records, the anonymous statistics of which will go on Drury’s end of year crime report. For instance, if the location of the infraction is provided, your case will be in the total number of that kind of infraction that was committed there.

If you choose to continue with the investigation, you are provided with another set of options: you can see which accommodations are available for you, such as moving housing occasions or class times, or you can seek some sort of compromise with the assailant. It is important to note that filing a report with the Title IX office is not the same as filing a report with the local police. If you choose to do that, the process starts over again, and is then outside of the university’s domain.

If you or a loved one have been assaulted or harassed on campus, there is hope. You can file an anonymous tip on the Title IX page of the Drury website, or reach out to a trusted friend or advisor who can guide you through the system.

Article by Julia Chamberlain