School policy changed to include immunity clause for sexual ?assault victims
By Amie Dahnke
In hopes of reducing barriers to reporting sexual assaults, the University of Portland has revised its sexual assault and sexual misconduct policies.
The sexual assault policy now includes an immunity clause that states University officials will not punish victims who, at the time of an assault, may have engaged in behavior that violates University rules, including those related to under-age drinking, intervisitation and sexual intimacy.
For years, students have sought changes in the policies, saying the old language cultivated an atmosphere in which victims were reluctant to come forward.
"There is a general fear students have toward reporting," said ASUP Vice President Allison Able, who, as a senator last year, co-authored a resolution seeking changes in the University's sexual misconduct policy.
"The term misconduct gave the connotation that the assaulted person did something wrong," Able said.
Judicial Coordinator Natalie Shank said that the immunity clause was added to make the policy clearer to students.
The new policy states "the University will not pursue potential violations of the survivor which occurred in the context of the assault. Likewise, the University will not pursue potential violations of a person who comes forward to report sexual assault."
Proponents welcomed the changes, although Shank said the new policies simply reflect how University officials have handled sexual assault issues over the years.
"We've written down the policy we've been practicing for years," Shank said.
Philosophy professor Jeff Gauthier, the faculty adviser of the Feminist Discussion Group until his sabbatical term this spring, said that the immunity clause, whether de facto or official, needed to be included in the official policy.
"If the immunity clause has been the practice, clearly it indicates it's been inconsistent on the basis of previous reports," Gauthier said.
A new sexual intimacy policy replaces the old sexual misconduct policy. According to Shank, the sexual intimacy policy is no longer grouped with the consensual relationships policy in order to make a distinction between the two.
"The new policy language was written to get the point across clearly while still being all encompassing," Shank said. "It'd be impossible and time consuming to list the specifics."
The new policy states that the University "reserves the right to take action when it believes the standards of human dignity have been violated." Shank explained these standards are parallel to the Catholic tradition that all University policies adhere to.
The ASUP resolution, introduced a year ago, called for more concrete and specific language in the sexual misconduct policy to reduce fear of retribution and punishment.
Prompted by the resolution, a group of administrators, including Shank, the Rev. John Donato, C.S.C., Health Center Director Paul Myers, Director of Public Safety Harold Burke-Sivers, Director of Residence Life Mike Walsh and Gerry Olinger, a Holy Cross seminarian visiting UP for the summer, worked over summer to rewrite the old policies, with the goal of publishing the new policies in the 2008-09 student handbook.
The group specifically worked on rewriting the language of the policies so that they reflect the University's mission of caring for the health and well being of the student. According to Shank, the revisions were not completed until after the handbook went to print. The revisions were approved in January of this year, she said.
While Able praises the University's step in transparency, she held concerns about the University's method of distributing the policy changes which were approved in January.
While proponents of the changes were heartened by the changes, they had issues with the method the University used to inform the community.
Shank said the policy change was distributed to selected groups, including The Beacon and the Feminist Discussion Group which staged a protest against the old policies on Monday.
Senior Devon Goss, who helped coordinate the protest, said the Feminist Discussion Group received confirmation about the changes via e-mail on Sunday night.
"On one hand, we applaud UP for making the changes," Goss said. "On the other, it's disappointing that they didn't tell students until now when the changes were implemented in January. Transparency is important."
Able said she was also disappointed about the distribution. "I was shocked to hear the administration changed the policy. You'd think they'd inform the student community or at least an entity like ASUP."
Shank said the University distributed the new policies to those groups who asked for it. The remaining student population - an overwhelming majority - would have been notified of the changes next year, when they received the 2009-10 student handbook.
