UTC Women s Center and the Transformation Project utc

1. UTC Women�s Center and the Transformation Projectwww.utc.edu/TransformationProject/425-5605

2. Contact Information: Helen-Eigenberg@utc.edu 425-4270 Sara-Peters@utc.edu 425-5605 Nancy-Badger@utc.edu 425-4438 Transformation Project Office: University Center Room 334 Mailing Address: 615 McCallie Ave., Dept. 1801 UTC Chattanooga, TN 37403-2598

3. Funding Funding authorized by Violence Against Women Act (1994) Office on Violence Against Women provides grants to prevent and respond to violence against women on college campuses Funded programs since 1999 UTC first funded in 2002 (though 04) Refunded for 2005-07 $200,000 for two years Possible renewal for another two years

5. Need for Services National data on college students indicates that 1 in 3 female students will be a victim of a completed or attempted rape. National data indicate that approximately 1 in 3 women will be victims of domestic violence at least once in their lifetime. Approximately 8% of women have reported being stalked in a relationship � most often by intimates; 82% of those stalked were physically assaulted and 31% raped by their stalkers. Women are most apt to be murdered by intimates and this risk increases when they leave or separate from an abusive partner.

7. Who does the grant cover? Students Faculty Staff

9. What have we agreed to do?

11. Goal #2: Provide specialized training for law enforcement officers and conduct a policy audit to ensure that offenders face the highest level of accountability possible.

13. �Special Conditions� The grantee agrees not to utilize mediation or counseling for couples as a response to violence against women crimes on campus. The grantee agrees not to offer perpetrators the option of entering diversion programs in lieu of campus disciplinary or criminal justice proceedings

14. �Special Conditions� Grant funds will not support activities that may compromise victim safety such as pre-trial diversion programs or anger management programs; or placing offenders charged with domestic violence in mediation programs, couples counseling, or any form of joint victim-offender counseling; or mandatory counseling for victims of domestic violence; or forcing victims to testify against their abusers.

15. �Special Conditions� The grantee agrees that education materials and prevention programs developed with grant funds will not promote alcohol or substance abuse as a primary cause of violent crimes against women.

16. �Special Conditions� To provide mandatory training for all incoming students.

17. �Special Conditions� The grantee agrees to establish and maintain a coordinated community response to violence against women on campus. This multidisciplinary response should involve the entire campus and the larger community in which the campus is located, including local nonprofit, victim advocacy organizations, criminal justice partners, and civil legal agencies.

18. What is �Coordinated�? Involves determining all the places in the university community that have contact with survivors/victims and those at risk. Each identified department develops protocols that delineate the steps required for appropriate responses.

19. Coordinated Response Model Comes from Domestic Violence Movement Dealt with Community response to domestic violence, especially concentrating on use of the criminal justice system Spread to other issues � Sexual Assault, School Violence, Child Abuse Duluth � Pioneer in the Field

20. Duluth ExampleInitial Implementation Period (1980-1983) Arrests rose from 22 to 175 Convictions from 20% to 87% 70% of victims reported no physical abuse in one-year follow up studies after arrest and intervention 60% of the victims reported they felt safer 80% of the victims reported the system had been helpful � i.e., met their needs

21. Most Importantly: In the ten years following the implementation of the model, Duluth had not experienced a single domestic homicide.

22. San Diego � Initial Success In 1990, when police decided to appoint a domestic violence coordinator, there were 18 domestic violence-linked murders. There were just 7,373 domestic violence cases reported to police in this city of 1.3 million. But by 1993, after the unit was established, the number of reported cases to police doubled to 14,598. The number of domestic violence murders dropped to 10.

23. Key to Process: Communication and cooperation across and within Departments and Units

24. Building a Coordinated Response

25. Key Components Establish Philosophical Approach Networking/Interdepartmental Cooperation Policy/Protocol Development Support for Victims Accountability

26. Creating a coherent philosophical approach that makes victim safety the most important goal Eliminate victim blaming (attitudes and practices) Instead of asking why won�t she use the system (i.e. arrest, prosecution, etc), ask why she should � how will it help her? Understanding that the perpetrator is responsible for the violence � not the victim Examining all reforms to look for unintended consequences that may put the victim in harm�s way

27. Enhancing networking among service providers Inter-unit/department dialogue a must The process of setting up any Council is critical to its long-term success Need people at the table willing to listen and learn from each other and about their roles and what barriers they face when trying to work with victims/survivors Regular, focused meetings

28. Developing policies and procedures for intervention that are part of an integrated response Education or training alone will not achieve the goal � must change the way people in systems act � not just the way they think Establish policies and protocols!

29. Ensuring a supportive community and infrastructure for victims/survivors  Provide essential services (housing, advocacy, counseling, crisis intervention, law enforcement/disciplinary system response) Create Protocols � Institutionalize responses Find creative ways to deal with individual needs in particular circumstances Transformation Project Staff � coordinate responses � stop shuffle from department to department

30. Building monitoring and tracking into the system Ways to measure success Identify areas where change is still needed (Where are the holes in the response?) Unit/departmental accountability Recognizing that some change will be difficult to deal with in terms of public opinion Evaluating the coordinated response from the standpoint of victim safety.

31. Providing sanctions while Supporting Cultural Change Holding perpetrators accountable but allowing for change Programming that seeks to diminish/eliminate cultural attitudes and a climate that encourages and supports violence against women

32. How to Make it Happen It Takes a Team

33. Council Structure Common to use a large guiding committee with various sub-committees This situation allows for more time to work on difficult issues Council is responsible for monitoring overall performance of the grant.

35. What will improve the institutional response? What kind of resistance will be to different proposals? Why would that resistance be there? Who are the key leaders to sell on trying something new? How could proposed changes backfire � for the project? The university? The victim? What kind of training on the proposed changes will be needed? How can changes be institutionalized (policy/protocol?) Key Questions