Prevention
The University of Rochester provides opportunities for all incoming and existing students and all new and existing employees to participate in prevention and awareness training programs regarding rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Training programs include information regarding the University’s prohibition of domestic/dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, the definitions of these terms as well as information regarding bystander intervention skills and warning signs of abusive behavior. For more information on prevention tips or prevention education programming the Title IX Office offers, go to www.rochester.edu/sexualmisconduct.
Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act
In accordance with Federal and State law, the following notice is provided: Information about Level III sex offenders, if any, living or working in the Rochester area near or adjacent to our campuses will be provided by local police to University Public Safety and maintained in our various campus offices. The Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) presumes that information from the registry will be used responsibly to promote public safety. Information provided from the registry may not be used to commit a crime against a person listed in the registry, or to engage in illegal discrimination or harassment against such person.
Options for students
The University has a number of resources available to support individuals who may have been subjected to sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. These resources include access to mental and physical health providers as well as to procedures for adjudicating complaints of sexual misconduct within the University and through the criminal justice system.
Resources include:
Meet with the University Title IX Coordinator or the Deputy Title IX Coordinator in your school or another appropriate official trained in interviewing victims of sexual assault who will provide information regarding options to proceed, and where applicable, the importance of preserving evidence and obtaining a sexual assault forensic examination as soon as possible. This person will explain that the criminal justice process utilizes different standards of proof and evidence and that any questions about whether a specific incident violated the penal law should be addressed to law enforcement or to the district attorney. The University Title IX Coordinator is Julia Green. Ms. Green can be reached by calling 585-275-1654, or via e-mail at julia.green@rochester.edu. Title IX staff members can also be reached at titleix@rochester.edu. The University Title IX Coordinator and the Deputy Title IX Coordinators are private, not confidential resources.
Make a formal report to Department of Public Safety (DPS)
(585-275-3333): DPS can help you file a formal report to the University about the incident. DPS can also assist you in making a report to the appropriate legal authority (Rochester Police, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, etc.) You can choose to simultaneously report the incident to the University and the appropriate law enforcement agency for investigation and response. You can also choose to only report the incident to local law enforcement or only report the incident to the University.
The University will seek consent from you prior to conducting an investigation and you may decline to consent to an investigation. That determination will be honored unless we determine that failure to investigate may result in harm to you or other members of the UR community. If we determine that an investigation is required, we will notify you and take immediate action as necessary to protect and assist you.
If you disclose an incident to a non-confidential resource, but wish to maintain confidentiality or do not consent to the institution’s request to initiate an investigation, the Title IX Coordinator will weigh your request against our obligation to provide a safe, non-discriminatory environment for all members of our community, including you. The factors to be considered include, but are not limited to:
- whether the accused has a history of violent behavior or is a repeat offender;
- whether the incident represents escalation from previously noted behavior,
- the increased risk that the accused will commit additional acts of violence;
- whether the accused used a weapon or force;
- whether the victim/survivor is a minor; and
- whether we possess other means to obtain evidence such as camera footage, and whether the report reveals a pattern of perpetration at a given location or by a particular.
If you choose to make a report to the University, DPS investigators will conduct an investigation, as appropriate, and send a report to the Center for Student Conflict Management (CSCM). If they haven’t done so already, staff members from the CSCM will then connect with you to discuss your options, including steps in the conduct process, resources available to support you, and the planned process for moving forward. If you make a complaint to the University, you have the right to withdraw that complaint at any time.
Request Interim Measures and Accommodations: Accommodations are available to any student who has come forward about an incident of sexual misconduct. These accommodations are available to you, regardless of your decision to make a formal report. If you would like to request an accommodation, please contact the Title IX staff at titleix@rochester.edu or the Title IX Coordinator at 585-275-1654 or julia.green@rochester.edu
Some things the University may be able to help arrange are (in no particular order):
- Helping Coordinate Alternative Housing, Transportation, and Classes:
- The University will discuss alternative housing, transportation to and from campus, and classes when that support is appropriate.
- Helping with Academic Accommodations: If you need academic accommodations due to this incident, Title IX staff can help you identify which accommodations you need and help you communicate those needs to your professors.
- Orders of Protection: The University can assist you obtaining an order of protection in family or criminal court and/or assist you receiving an Active Avoidance Order which is a University of Rochester document preventing one party from contacting
Connect with a counselor at the University Counseling Center (585-275-3113): University Counseling Center (UCC) can help provide mental health support during a difficult situation 24 hours a day with their on-call counselor and appointments are also available. Reports made to UCC or UHS are confidential.
File a report with the appropriate police department: DPS can help you connect with the appropriate law enforcement agency if you wish to report the incident to the police. Calling 911 to directly connect to local police is an option as well. The police officers who respond may take a report and explain possible legal options including temporary and permanent orders of protections. You can choose to simultaneously report the incident to the University and the appropriate law enforcement agency for investigation and response.
Contact RESTORE (585-546-2777 or https://restoresas.org/): RESTORE provides a 24-hour confidential hotline as well as advocacy support. RESTORE is not affiliated with the University of Rochester and reports made to RESTORE are confidential and will not be shared with the University.
Confidentially disclose the incident and obtain services from the state or local government.
If the accused is an employee of the University, disclose the incident to University Human Resources through the policy 106 process: The University’s policy 106 process is utilized when a complaint of sexual misconduct is made against faculty, staff, residents, fellows, postdoctoral appointees, volunteers or a visitor to University property. University policy 106 can be found online here: http:// rochester.edu/working/hr/policies/pdfpolicies/106.pdf
File a report online: If you wish to make a report about the incident to the University without including your name or personally identifiable information you may file a report online and decline to provide your personal information. Online anonymous reporting is helpful to gather information about the date, type and location of an incident when the student who experienced the incident does not wish to disclose their identity and/or participate in the investigatory process.
Take no action: Students may also make it known that they do not want to take any action right now. In those situations where students indicate that they would not like the University to investigate or respond to the report of the incident the University will most often honor those wishes. There are, however, some circumstances, explained above, when concerns about the safety of the University community are raised by the report. In those circumstances the University will investigate and respond as appropriate without the cooperation of the student who made the initial report. While it is never too late to make a report to the University, your options to bring criminal charges may be impacted if you delay reporting the incident. If you have been the victim of a sexual assault, we encourage you to visit a local hospital as soon as possible for a rape kit to preserve any evidence. It is best to visit a hospital immediately after a sexual assault but within the first 72 hours of the sexual assault. Having evidence collected within 72 hours preserves your right to decide at a later date whether you wish to go forward with the University’s judicial process or with the criminal justice system.
Confidentiality
All members of the University community are encouraged to report any instances or claims of sexual harassment, including claims of sexual violence or retaliation to the Title IX Coordinator.
Responsible Employees who receive or learn of reports or concerns of discrimination, harassment or retaliation as defined within University Policy must promptly (as soon as practical and no later than 48 hours) report to the University Title IX Coordinator. The term “Responsible Employee” is defined in the Title IX Policy as:
Student and non-student employees of the University who:
- Supervise University employees, including student employees and faculty members;
- Have been designated as a Campus Safety Authority pursuant to the Clery Act;
- Service as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator at one of the University’s schools or within the Department of Athletics;
- Have a job with the word “dean” in it, or
- Work in any of the following departments/offices: Department of Public Safety, Office of Equity and Inclusion, Student life offices in each of the University’s schools, or Department of Residential
When such reports of sexual misconduct are received by Responsible Employees on behalf of the University they are treated confidentially to the greatest extent possible and permitted by law. As a community, we believe it is imperative that students are able to access support services offered by the University even if they do not wish to report the incident to the University. Students who wish to access University support services without making a disclosure to the University can contact the University Health Service at 585-275-2662, the University Counseling Center at 585-275-3113, and University Chaplains at 585-275-4321. The staff members in these offices are not required to report the details of an incident to the Title IX Coordinator, however, they are asked to submit a report with information regarding the date, time and location of the incident as well as the type of conduct that occurred. The report does not need to include any personally identifiable information regarding the individuals involved in the incident.