Procedures Victims Should Follow if a Crime of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking Occurs

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After an incident of sexual assault, dating violence or domestic violence, the victim should consider seeking medical attention as soon as possible at a local hospital.  It is important that a victim of sexual assault not bathe, douche, smoke, change clothing or clean the bed/linen/area where the victim was assaulted if the offense occurred within the past 96 hours so that evidence may be preserved that may assist in proving that the alleged criminal offense occurred/or is occurring or may be helpful in obtaining a protection order. Any physical evidence should not be kept in a plastic bag; a brown bag or pillowcase should be used. In circumstances of sexual assault, if victims do not opt for forensic evidence collection, health care providers can still treat injuries and take steps to address concerns of pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted infections. Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence are encouraged to also preserve evidence by saving text messages, instant messages, social networking pages, other communications, and keeping pictures, logs or other copies of documents, if they have any, that would be useful to College Investigators or police.

As time passes, evidence may dissipate or become lost or unavailable, thereby making investigation, possible prosecution, disciplinary proceedings, or obtaining Protection from Abuse orders related to the incident more difficult. If a victim chooses not to make a complaint regarding an incident the victim should consider speaking with Campus Security or other law enforcement to preserve evidence. This will assist in proving that the alleged criminal offense occurred or may be helpful in obtaining a protection order in the event that the victim decides to report the incident to law enforcement or the College at a later date.

Involvement of Law Enforcement and Campus Authorities

Although the College strongly encourages all members of its community to report violations of this policy to law enforcement (including Campus Security and/or local police), it is the victim’s choice whether or not to make such a report. Furthermore, victims have the right to decline to notify law enforcement. This choice is not available in the case of minors as Goldey-Beacom College will adhere to Delaware Chapter 9 of Title 16 requirements and report the incident to law enforcement. Should the victim choose to decline the contacting of law enforcement, the College is willing to assist the victim.  However, the College’s Title IX Coordinator will assist with notifying law enforcement if the victim so desires. Delaware State Police may also be reached directly by calling (302) 633-5000, or in person at 3301 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE  19808.  Additional information about the Delaware State Police may be found online at: http://dsp.delaware.gov/locations.shtml.

Reporting Incidents of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking

Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking should report the incident promptly by:

1. Calling 911 and Campus Security if the victim is in the midst of any kind of emergency, immediate harm or threat of harm. Campus Security can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 302-547-0988,
2. Completing the Title IX Complaint Form available on Campus Web or the College Website. The form is automatically submitted to the Title IX Coordinators and can be submitted anonymously, or
3. Emailing TitleIXCoordinator@gbc.edu, or
4. Contacting a Title IX Coordinator directly to report a violation.

Filing a Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a sub-agency of the US Department of Education that is primarily focused on enforcing civil rights law prohibiting discrimination in education institutions. File a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within 180 days from the date of the incident that is the basis of your complaint, although there may be limited exceptions that would allow additional time. Guidance from OCR on how to file a complaint is provided below:

Online: You may file a complaint with OCR using OCR’s electronic complaint form at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html.

Mail or Facsimile: You may mail or send by facsimile information to the address or fax number available at this link.  You may use OCR’s Discrimination Complaint Form or write your own letter.  If you write your own letter, please include:

• The complainant’s name, address and, if possible (although not required), a telephone number where the complainant may be reached during business hours;
• Information about the person(s) or class of persons injured by the alleged discriminatory act(s) (names of the injured person(s) are not required);
• The name and location (city and state) of the institution that committed the alleged discriminatory act(s); and
• A description of the alleged discriminatory act(s) in sufficient detail to enable OCR to understand what occurred, when it occurred, and the basis for the alleged discrimination.

Email: You may email OCR’s Discrimination Complaint Form or your own signed letter to ocr@ed.gov. If you write your own letter, please include the information identified above.

For those without current email accounts, Internet access may be freely available from your local public library, and free email accounts are available from several large providers.