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NOVACares, Public Safety, Sexual Assault Services

NOVA Victims’ Rights Provisions

Northern Virginia Community College

Victims’ Rights Provisions – 2014

 

Sexual misconduct is not tolerated at Northern Virginia Community College.  Reports of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, or stalking are taken seriously.  It is important to NOVA that victims (complainants) are informed, protected, and respected.  The complete Northern Virginia Community College Sexual Misconduct Policy is available online at www.nvcc.edu.  More information about the College’s responsibilities under Title IX to address complaints of sexual violence can be found online.

The following rights are afforded to any NOVA student, staff, or faculty member who experiences such an incident.  It is NOVA’s hope that these rights will provide you with adequate information from which to choose your options.

  1.  CONFIDENTIALITY. Above all, confidentiality of victims must be protected.  Identifying information of a victim will be protected as much as possible.  This means that a victim’s name will not be published or otherwise publicized without her/his permission.  When a person makes an official complaint to authorities, all possible protections will be afforded this individual, whether or not she/he participates in any investigation. When the College needs to act to protect the safety of others, absolute confidentiality may not be possible. For absolute confidentiality, contact NOVA Sexual Assault Services (see below for contact information).
  2.  TIMELY WARNINGS.  Any timely warning that is broadcast through NOVA websites or emails for the safety of our community will       not identify a victim by name.
  3.  REPORTING OPTIONS.  It is your choice whether or not you decide to report your victimization. At NOVA, there are several offices to report an incident if you choose to do so.  See list below.College Police – 703-764-5000To report the incident and begin a criminal investigation

    Local Police Department – 911

    To report the incident and begin a criminal investigation with minimal college involvement

    Campus Dean of Students – Contact the Dean Of Students at your own campus or center

    To report the incident and begin a Student Code of Conduct investigation

    Human Resources – 703-323-3110

    To report the incident and begin a staff or faculty investigation

    Sexual Assault Services – nova.sas@nvcc.edu or 703.338.0834    24 hour availability

    ***To access confidential support, advocacy and intervention for those affected by these issues

    Title IX Coordinator – Mr. Therman Coles – 703-323-3266

    To report the incident and begin an administrative Title IX investigation

  4. NO CONTACT or PROTECTIVE ORDERS.  The College will honor any protective order that you may have acquired through the local courts.  Please bring a copy of such a court order to the College Police for their information and enforcement.  In addition, a NOVA administrative no contact order may be created by the Dean of Students or Title IX Coordinator once the incident is reported to that office.
  5. PRESERVING PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.  If you are considering a criminal prosecution, it is extremely important to preserve all evidence of an assault. If you go to a hospital as a result of a penetrating sexual assault, you are entitled to a free evidence collection examination called a SANE exam.  SANE stands for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.  In Northern Virginia, the preferred hospital for such an exam is INOVA Fairfax, where they have specially trained nurses on call 24 hours a day for such purposes. INOVA Fairfax Hospital provides care to sexual assault victims no matter where in Northern Virginia the crime occurred. The nurse will collect the evidence and ask the police in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred to pick it up and store it for at least six months.  The evidence will be in a box marked only with a number, not your name.  You are not required to make an official police report for this evidence to be collected.  If you later decide to make such a report, the hospital will give your name to the police and the evidence kit will be tested for possible use in a court case.  For more information about how to preserve evidence, contact NOVA Police at 703.764.5000 or NOVA Sexual Assault Services at 703.338.0834.
  6. STUDENT CONDUCT PROCESS.  If you are a student and your perpetrator was also a student, then you may choose to report the incident (as the complainant) to your Dean of Students to begin a conduct process.  This is not a court trial; you may or may not choose to contact the police to use this process.  A hearing will be held on campus to determine whether the perpetrator is responsible for the act that you have reported.  Sanctions for this process are confined to the College only and range from probation to expulsion, depending on the severity of the incident.  For more details, see the current NOVA Code of Student Conduct within the NOVA Student Handbook, accessed online or in hardback copy.
  7. HUMAN RESOURCES PROCESS.  If you are an employee, then you may choose to report the incident to NOVA Human Resources, specifically to the Director of Human Resources, Employee Relations Specialist or the designated HR Campus Consultant.  Additionally, you may also choose to contact College Police to use this process or to begin a criminal investigation.
  8. REQUESTS FOR CHANGES.  You may request a change in academic setting (class or campus) or work assignment in order to be more clearly separated from the accused perpetrator.  Such a request will be granted to the greatest extent possible.  These requests should be made to the Campus Dean of Students or Title IX Coordinator (if you are a student) or the Director of Human Resources or Title IX Coordinator (if you are an employee).  Requested changes will be made as soon as alternative arrangements can reasonably be made and regardless of whether you choose to pursue an investigation into your incident..
  9. FAIR AND IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION AND RESOLUTION.  You can expect a fair and just process as your complaint is handled, either through the Dean of Students, Human Resources, or Title IX Coordinator.  You can obtain more information about these processes by accessing the Student Handbook, Faculty Handbook or Classified Staff Handbook, which can all be found online at www.nvcc.edu.
  10. RETALIATION CONCERNS.  Threats, intimidation, and any form of retaliation for bringing a complaint of sexual misconduct are prohibited by the Sexual Misconduct Policy as well as Federal law and may be grounds for disciplinary action.  If any retaliation occurs, it is important to contact either the Campus Dean of Students, the College Police, the Title IX Coordinator, and/or Human Resources.
  11. COMMUNITY RESOURCES.  Since NOVA does not offer mental health counseling to students or employees, it is important to be aware of community resources that are both free and confidential. All offer 24 hour services.  It is best to choose the service listed below that is closest either to your home or your campus.  Every student or employee can use NOVA SAS, however, no matter where you live, work, or study.

NOVA CC- Sexual Assault Services  (SAS)– nova.sas@nvcc.edu or 703.338.0834

ALEXANDRIA – Sexual Assault Center – 703.683.7273

FAIRFAX COUNTY  – Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS) – 703.360.7273

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY – Sexual Assault Victims’ Advocacy Services (SAVAS) – 703.368.4141

LOUDOUN COUNTY – Abused Women’s Shelter (LAWS) – 703.777.6652

In an emergency, call 911.  Consider reporting any of these crimes to the police. 

NOVA Police can be reached at 703.764.5000.

Events, NOVACares, Public Safety, Sexual Assault Services

NOVA’s First Annual “Take Back The Night” Rally and March April 22, LO

Take Back the Night Flyer 2014

NOVA’s First Annual Take Back the Night  is scheduled at the Loudoun Campus on Tuesday, April 22nd beginning at 6:30 PM.

The purpose of a Take Back The Night is to raise awareness about violence against women, specifically sexual assault and domestic violence.  There will be speakers from within the College and from the wider community.  Some students will speak out about their personal experiences.  Resources will be available from many community agencies.  The rally will be followed by a short candlelight march around LO (to invigorate the crowd and to add a special significance to the event.  And finally, Sexual Assault Services will provide an open area for those in attendance to share their experiences in a Safe Room at LO.

This entire event has been organized and is sponsored by NOVA Sexual Assault Services.  We welcome your attendance.  Please pass along the information to anyone you think might be interested.

 

NOVACares, Sexual Assault Services, Uncategorized

New Sexual Assault Services (SAS) Coordinator Joins NOVACares Team

Announcing a new addition to our team!

Please help us welcome Ms. Negar Ehsani to the NOVACares Team. Ms. Ehsani has accepted the Sexual Assault Services (SAS) Coordinator position. Negar has a Master’s of Social Work from George Mason University. She has experience from her position as Sexual Assault Outreach Specialist at the Fairfax County Office for Women and Domestic Sexual Violence Services. Negar comes to us with extensive community resource information for accessing community resources and programs in the NOVA area. Negar is bilingual (English and Farsi).

Negar, we are so happy that you have chosen to join the NOVACares team!

NOVACares, Public Safety, Sexual Assault Services

Bystander Intervention/Prevention

http://pact5.org/resources/prevention-and-readiness/everyone-is-a-bystander/

Bystander Intervention/Prevention

You will be a bystander. It could be at a party, when you notice two people headed upstairs. Person A is extremely intoxicated, Person B is not. Or earlier in the night, when you saw Person B giving drink after drink after drink to Person A.

Or maybe it’s in your dorm, when your friend makes that comment about what a (insert expletive here) his (girlfriend-friend-someone else) is and he’s staring at you, waiting for a reaction.

Or maybe it’s in the classroom, when someone comments that she “just got raped by that exam.”

It can be difficult. You’re involved – but you’re not the target. These moments, which sometimes seem small or unimportant, can have an impact. You might be able to prevent sexual assault from occurring or even potentially work to change a culture that allows this type of violence to occur. But sometimes it can seem daunting, which is why it’s important to remember that big change is made through your response to those little moments. In other words, you don’t have to end sexual violence all by yourself and it isn’t going to happen all at once.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult

Often, people have concerns about intervening in moments where they feel something is wrong. They may think that they just don’t have all the information, that no one will support them, or that there could be a safety risk in getting involved.

Bystander intervention means taking actions that make sense to you in that moment. This means trusting your gut – acknowledging when there is a remark or situation that is a problem to you and also recognizing what you are willing to do and not do. There is no perfect response, there is only the best response you can offer in the moment. The safety of both yourself and the victim is a priority and often times there is more than one thing you can do.

So What to Do?

Consider the situation as well as all your available options. You may choose to intervene directly or indirectly and you may choose to reach out to other friends and bystanders for support.

For example, think about the first scenario above, where someone is giving another person drink after drink and then taking that person to a secluded area. Some methods of bystander intervention would be:

  • Chat them up: talk to Person A and Person B throughout the night. If you notice Person B pushing drinks, you can make a comment like, “We still have a couple of hours to go…think we all might have to slow down” or “I think she’s had plenty.”
  • If Person A looks uncomfortable, help him/her by giving them an out. You might say he/she has a friend trying to get a hold of him/her on your cell phone or ask their friends to go over with some other kind of distraction.
  • You and other friends can follow them up the stairs and let them know you’re there to help. Tell Person A or Person B that their ride is leaving without them, that a buddy is trying to find them, or something else that would get them back downstairs.

What about if a friend is being derogatory about or aggressive towards someone in their life?

  • Think about your response – even an disapproving look sends a message.
  • Call them out – “Dude, you can be mad, but don’t talk about her that way” or “You seem to be pretty angry lately and I’m worried you’re hurting yourself and other people. Do you need my help?”
  • Set the tone – continue showing respect for the people around you and modeling good behaviors.

And what about those little comments?

Something you may hear more often than you realize are comments or jokes that undermine the severity of rape and sexual assault. Most of the time, people just aren’t thinking about the impact of their words. It’s something to consider though, especially since research indicates that 1 in 4 females and 1 in 6 males are sexually abused by age 18. That means that it’s very likely that there is someone (or multiple people) in your life that has been the victim of rape or sexual assault, even if he or she has never talked about it with you before. There are cultural implications of rape comments/jokes (which, if you want to learn more about this, you can – google “Why Shouldn’t I Use Rape Jokes” and you will find many insightful articles on the topic), but putting that aside, just keep one thing in mind – you can’t know the full story about the person sitting next to you, even if you know them well, so it’s helpful to consider the language you use before you use it and to address another person’s language if he/she is throwing around the word “rape” carelessly.

For more information on bystander intervention, visit our Resources page.

What if someone discloses to me that they were the victim of rape/sexual assault?

When you’re a proactive bystander and are informed about these issues, you may find that people in your life are more likely to disclose victimization to you. For information about how to respond, see What To Do If Someone I Know Has Been Sexually Assaulted.

You are part of the campus community, so make sure you’re connected with your own institution’s programs and resources. Look to your campus sex offense policy to understand your campus processes and options. Find out who is doing sexual assault prevention education on campus and how you can get involved. Whether you’re an athlete, part of a student group, or play another role at your college or university, remember that you’re a leader, which means that you can set an example and get others engaged in prevention, as well.

Your institution has started the conversation.

You are part of the campus community, so make sure you’re connected with your own institution’s programs and resources. Look to your campus sex offense policy to understand your campus processes and options. Find out who is doing sexual assault prevention education on campus and how you can get involved. Whether you’re an athlete, part of a student group, or play another role at your college or university, remember that you’re a leader, which means that you can set an example and get others engaged in prevention, as well.

NOVACares, Sexual Assault Services

The Trauma of Sexual Assault

The Trauma of Sexual Assault
Written by: Connie J. Kirkland, MA, NCC, CTS
Director, Student Mental Health and Behavior

Many cases of sexual assault have been in the national news in the past few weeks. Even the White House has commented on the disturbingly high numbers of these incidents. Sadly, this problem also exists on campuses, affecting women most notably, but also men.

Imagine how difficult it might be to continue attending classes if one’s offender is on the same campus. Imagine how lonely a victim might feel not knowing where to go for information and understanding.

Any sexual act that lacks consent from both of the parties involved is a sexual assault. Sexual acts that occur when the individual is unconscious or otherwise unable to give his/her consent, possi-bly due to the use of alcohol or drugs, are sexual assaults and can be prosecuted.

The type of sexual assault we most often hear about is rape. Rape is defined as forced sexual intercourse between any two individuals. Forced oral or anal sodomy, between a man and a woman or two of the same sex are equal to rape in the eyes of the law. They are all felonies and a convicted of-fender could receive a lengthy prison sentence. There are also lesser forms of sexual assaults in legal terms, such as indecent exposure and touching of a sexual nature without any penetration. These crimes are misdemeanors and a convicted offender can also receive a fine and/or a jail sentence. Sexual assaults are also against the NOVA Code of Conduct because they are unethical and immoral.

We can lower the number of sexual assaults if we take a moment to intervene when we see a hostile environment being created. By becoming an active bystander and recognizing when someone is exerting unwanted power over another, when one is unable to give a clear, sober consent to sex, and by speaking up when in such a situation, we can make the difference in a potential victim’s life. The consequences of sexual assault are very serious. Immediate concerns of physical injury, pregnancy, and STIs are obvious concerns. Resulting emotional damage may be equally as serious, leading to social and personal concerns, as well as lower academic performance.

There are simple steps we can take to help victims of sexual assault. First, and foremost, “Believe the Victim.” Unless we are police or conduct administrators, our role is not to investigate or to be fact-finders. Rather, it is to say in effect “I believe you and I am so sorry this happened to you.” Additionally, tell the victim “I know a person you can call to help you” and advise them to contact NOVA Sexual Assault Services (SAS), at 703.338.0834, and/or the police, at 703.764.5000.

It is important for a sexual assault victim to report this crime and talk about it with someone who understands and who can assist the victim in getting needed legal and emotional assistance. NOVA SAS supports such victims. The SAS advocate can provide information on the issues of sexual assault dating/partner violence and stalking to members of the NOVA community. The advocate can explain the options a person has, either through the police/court process or the student conduct process. If a person only wants to talk through his or her feelings and perhaps get a referral to an off-campus therapist, the SAS advocate can facilitate that as well.
All NOVA SAS services are free and confidential. The advocate can be reached by email at nova.sas@nvcc.edu or at her 24-hour cell phone: 703.338.0834.

For more information about this topic, contact Connie Kirkland, Director, Student Mental Health and Behavior (SMHB), at 703.323.2136. SMHB manages the NOVA SAS program.

NOVACares, Sexual Assault Services

NOVACares welcomes new SAS (Sexual Assault Services) Coordinator!

NOVACares welcomes our new Sexual Assault Services (SAS) Coordinator, Sandy Nagabhushan. Sandy has been trained in psychological, medical, legal and judicial support to assist victims of sexual assault or intimate partner violence. As the SAS Coordinator, she will provide outreach and response to the NOVA community on issues of sexual assault, dating/partner violence, and stalking. Her interest in this field started as an undergraduate student interning at a domestic violence shelter where she learned how to assist and respond to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Her educational background includes psychology, sociology, and completing certification in addictions counseling. At the masters level, she is studying counseling and development with a concentration in community agency counseling. As a peer advocate at George Mason University, she responded to all reports of sexual assault and related issues of stalking and dating partner violence. Sandy has also provided crisis intervention to survivors and education on sexual assault, sexual harassment, and relation-ship violence to the community. She looks forward to serving the NOVA community to promote wellness through education and outreach.

Sandy can be reached at NOVA.SAS@nvcc.edu or 703-338-0834 24 hours a day.

Welcome, Sandy!!!!!