December 22, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Purdy Contributes to National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault

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In her role as board member for the non-profit organization Stop Street Harassment (SSH), Britnae Purdy, Project Coordinator in the Office of Title IX, has contributed to a joint national study by SSH, UCSD Center on Gender Equity and Health (GEH), RALIANCE, CALCASA and Promundo.

The study, titled “Measuring #Metoo: A National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault” includes findings that:

  • 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime.
  • The most frequently listed location for sexual harassment is a public space, while most sexual assault takes place in private homes or residences.
  • Sexual harassment and assault cause people, especially women, to feel anxiety or depression and prompt them to change their route or regular routine.
  • While experiences of sexual harassment and assault are highly prevalent, accusations of sexual harassment and assault are very rare.
  • Most people who said they committed sexual harassment also said they had experienced sexual harassment.

The release of this study came at the end of April’s national observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and serves as a follow-up study to the February 2018 report “The Facts Behind the #MeToo Movement: A National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault.” 

Upcoming Conference on Campus

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Please join the Office of Title IX and the Center for Prevention and Education for a free, one-day, on-campus conference on Thursday, March 14 in Chandler Ballroom. Evolving Practices: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Gender-Based Violence on College Campuses offers a wide range of perspectives, including non-profit professionals, academics, student conduct professionals and more on the multifaceted nature of sexual and gender-based violence at the university level.

This conference is best suited for professionals working directly with college-aged students including law enforcement, student conduct, victim advocates, counselors, academics and other interested parties.  Students are welcome to attend!  While this conference is free, pre registration is required.

Purdy Contributes to WHO Database on Research Priority-Setting

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Britnae Purdy, Project Coordinator in the Office of Title IX, has published an article titled “An analysis of research priority-setting at the World Health Organization – how mapping to a standard template allows for comparison between research priority setting-approaches” in the journal Health Research Policy and Systems. By reviewing 116 documents published over 15 years by the WHO, the researchers extracted 2145 research priorities and categorized them according to disease group, priority-setting method utilized, stage in the research cycle, and document type in a common database. The goal of this interactive and open-access database is to emphasize the importance of a standardized priority-setting approach and encourage the establishment of such by the WHO Global Observatory on Health R&D. This report and database features work conducted by Purdy as a 2015 Duke University Global Policy fellow in the Special Programme for Research and Training in Neglected Tropical Diseases (TDR).

Faculty/Staff Lunch Series: Talking with a Survivor

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Join UMW Office of Title IX and Center for Prevention & Education on Thursday, Oct. 18 at noon in the Magnolia Room in the UC for an informal presentation and Q&A session on how to sensitively and effectively talk with a survivor of gender-based violence about their experience. Learn how to be a good ally. Presented by RCASA – Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault.

Please grab lunch in the dining hall or bring your own into the faculty/staff dining room.

Step Up! Facilitator Training Oct. 16

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Step Up! Bystander Intervention teaches students and community members to participate in creating a safer community for us all by taking responsibility for their actions and the actions of their fellow Eagles. The Office of Title IX and Center for Prevention and Education is pleased to be able to offer Step Up! Bystander Intervention training to the student body this year – but we need your help to grow!

Do you need to be an expert in this field? No – you simply need to have enthusiasm and a commitment to community. After completing an hour and a half-long facilitator training session, you will be a certified facilitator and will be able to host your own Step Up! workshops throughout the year.

The next training session will be held Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Colonnade Room of the UC. Please RSVP to DeAnna Absher at dabsher@umw.edu at your earliest convenience and include your t-shirt size!

Facilitators Needed for Bystander Intervention

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Our next Step Up! Bystander Intervention Facilitator Training will be Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in UC 315.

Step Up! Bystander Intervention teaches students and community members to participate in creating a safer community for us all by taking responsibility for their actions and the actions of their fellow Eagles. The Office of Title IX and Center for Prevention and Education is pleased to be able to offer Step Up! Bystander Intervention training to the student body this year – but we need your help to grow!

Do you need to be an expert in this field? No – you simply need to have enthusiasm and a commitment to community. After completing an hour and a half-long facilitator training session, you will be a certified facilitator and will be able to host your own Step Up! workshops throughout the year. Learn more at: https://diversity.umw.edu/itsonus/

Please RSVP to DeAnna Absher at dabsher@umw.edu at your earliest convenience and include your t-shirt size!

 

Community-Wide Pop-Up Art Gallery

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The Office of Title IX and Center for Prevention and Education, along with local partner Empowerhouse and student clubs Feminists United and SAVE, would like to invite the UMW community to participate in the I Can, We Can Pop-Up Gallery. This socially engaging art program challenges participants to reflect on what they can do, individually and as a community, to prevent domestic abuse and interpersonal violence. All UMW and Fredericksburg community members are invited to submit a work of art at bit.ly/fburgICAN by Friday, Feb. 9, and to join us in the Chandler Ballroom from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15 to enjoy a pop-up art gallery along with refreshments and hands-on activities.

UMW Prioritizes Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking Prevention

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Contact: Britnae Purdy

Tel.: (540) 654-5655

Email: bpurdy@umw.edu

 

UMW Prioritizes Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking Prevention

 

Oct. 13, 2017 – The Office of Title IX at the University of Mary Washington, along with community and campus partners and student volunteers, is excited to launch expanded programming with a focus on bystander intervention, prevention, and survivor services.

 

UMW was a 2016 recipient of a $300,000 grant through the Office of Violence Against Women’s Program to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus. Part of the US Department of Justice, the Office of Violence Against Women was formed in 1995 to enhance the capacity of communities across the country that are developing programs aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

 

Now nearing the end of the first year of the grant, which has focused on strategic planning, the grant has so far allowed for the formation of an interdisciplinary Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT), three intensive training institutes for grant leaders, and the hiring of a Project Coordinator and Case Manager/Survivor Advocate.

 

The Office of Title IX is excited for this opportunity to expand and enhance our already existing programming. This year’s educational opportunities have thus far included mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students; gender- and sexual-based violence training for student athletes, workshops for faculty and staff members, and more. October, which is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, brings a slew of new events to campus, many of which are made possible by our passionate student volunteers and community partners. Additionally, the University has approved the hiring of a new Title IX Investigator and created a new, full-time Title IX Coordinator position.

 

We encourage the community to visit the Title IX website to learn more about this grant and stay up-to-date on new events and programs, and to engage with us on Instagram and Facebook.  Additionally, we invite all students, faculty, staff, and community members to join us for an open house on November 8th, 4-6pm in Fairfax House on the UMW campus. We will be unveiling the new Center for Prevention and Education, providing light refreshments, resources and information about our services and our new federal grant, and asking visitors to leave their mark on our new home by helping with an interactive art project.

 

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