A group of students has created a report describing suggestions for improving Georgetown’s sexual assault services, which they distributed to various administrators on Monday.
The group, Advocates for Improved Response Methods to Sexual Assault put together the report as part of a campaign to enhance sexual assault services.
The report recommends moving the position of Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Services Coordinator from Health Education Services to the Women’s Center and increasing sexual assault education and outreach programs.
The report is an “expression of students’ dissatisfaction with Georgetown’s policy and services for sexual assault,” according to AFIRMS spokespersons Olive Goh and Maureen Keffer.
There are a variety of options for students who are victims of sexual assault, according to Todd Olson, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. The Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Services Coordinator carries a pager in order to provide an immediate response for students. Students may also contact the Department of Public Service, the Metropolitan Police Department, Residence Hall staff or Meredith Frankel, a Counseling and Psychiatric Services counselor who works with victims of sexual assault.
In addition, the Sexual Assault Working Group, which was established in 1995 and includes students, staff, administrators and faculty, works to improve awareness of sexual assault issues on campus and improve the University’s response to assaults.
AFIRMS’ report states that the Working Group “lacks institutional recognition and administrative sway because Senior Student Affairs Administrators are not represented on the board.” The report also claims that because Frankel’s position is part-time, she cannot “address the omnipresent potential of sexual violence,” and a full-time counselor is needed.
Olson and Carol Day, director of Health Education Services, both stated that they believe the University offers sufficient resources.
“There is always a lot to be done to improve sexual assault services, but I think that if a student picks up the phone, we are very good at handling it one-on-one,” Director of Health Education Services Carol Day said.
Day and Olson just recently received the sexual assault report and said they could not yet comment on the specific suggestions.
The position of Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Services Coordinator has been vacant since Carolyn Hurwitz resigned in November. Although Day has assumed Hurwitz’s responsibilities, the report claims that “the transfer of responsibilities to an unqualified Georgetown employee shows a complete lack of concern for the issue of sexual assault.”
Day said she had filled in for Hurwitz numerous times and is familiar with the Coordinator’s responsibilities. According to Olson, a search committee for a new full-time replacement will be created “very soon,” and Day hopes to have the position filled by the summer.
AFIRMS plans to present a second report about Georgetown’s sexual assault policy. The group plans to work to educate members of the Georgetown community about sexual assault and to ensure implementation of the report’s recommended changes.
“We recognize that change cannot be immediate, but we hope that our report is taken under serious consideration, and that it leads to a dialogue among students and administrators and produces concrete positive change,” Goh and Keffer said.
