Division of Student Affairs Annual Report 2018-19
Survivor Advocacy Program
Highlights
1,200
interactions with survivors and co-survivors
147
survivors or co-survivors impacted
$286,845
in budget
$286,022
in expenses
During the 2018-2019 academic year, the Survivor Advocacy Program (SAP) had over 1,200 documented interactions with 147 student survivors or co-survivors.
In February 2019, SAP underwent its first-ever departmental external review to identify programmatic strengths and areas for growth as well as to direct our vision moving forward.
Alongside the Women’s Center and Health Promotion, SAP provided training to all transportation services staff on rape culture, bystander intervention, and empathic response and survivor support to assist in their work in transporting students on their shuttles and the increase in calls for service they experienced during the academic year.
OHIO’s SAP served as project leader for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Culture of Respect collaborative, a 2-year higher education program that leads to the creation of policies and programs that support survivors, prevent sexual violence and communicate that violence is unacceptable.
In partnership with the Ohio University Police Department and an OHIO student survivor, SAP developed “Start by Believing: A Collaborative Discussion Between a Survivor & the Detective Who Helped Her on the Journey to Regain Power.” The group presented to 400 attendees at the 2019 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Intimate Partner Violence and Increasing Access Conference.
SAP worked alongside Counseling and Psychological Services to provide separate confidential skills-based workshop series for female-identified, male-identified and gender-expansive survivors. The partnership also created and hosted “Coping for the Break” events prior to winter and summer breaks to engage students in learning necessary coping skills to use during their time away from campus.
All department staff participated in Anti-Oppression Informed Practitioner certification training through the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
The Athens Sexual Assault Resource Collaborative (SARC), which SAP is a part of, received the American Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio Hometown Heroes Group Award.