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The four confidential SVPA Advocates are Nicole Powell, Chris Campbell, Justin Mendillo, and Stephanie Haskins.

The director of sexual violence prevention and advocacy, Nicole Powell, is a trained sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking advocate. She is a confidential resource and is typically available year-round to assist students who have experienced sexual misconduct, stalking or intimate partner violence. She also serves as a resource for friends of victim-survivors, as well as for faculty and staff supporting students, and she works with the Coordinated Community Response Team to ensure students have access to the information and support they need and want.

The Director of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy and Confidential Advocates offer assistance with the following:

• Support
• Safety planning
• Share service provider options based on need
• Connecting students with the appropriate services (medical, counseling, and legal)

To reach the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention & Advocacy, Call 860-439-2235 or schedule an appointment.

The following campus offices/individuals are considered confidential resources for the purpose of Title IX and do not share information about sexual violence:

• Student Counseling Services (860-439-4587), Located in Warnshius Health Center
• Student Health Services (860-439-2275), Located in Warnshius Health Center

When you go to one of these people for support and advice, the information may remain confidential and does not constitute official notice to the College of sexual misconduct.

However, confidential staff members, with the exception of Student Counseling Services and College Chaplains, must share anonymized information with the College that an incident was reported, per the federal Clery Act.

Students are strongly encouraged to seek medical attention and support, regardless of when the incident occurred, in order to be:

• treated for any injuries
• given prophylactic antibiotics
• offered emergency contraception

Physical evidence of a criminal sexual assault must be collected within 120 hours of the assault via a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam. It is important that you do not wash yourself or your clothing before an examination (try to remember to bring a change of clothes with you). You are strongly encouraged to bring an advocate with you. Student Health Services (during business hours), the Director of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy or student support specialists (after hours) can provide you with support and arrange for transportation to L&M Hospital in New London.

Please note: You DO NOT have to press criminal charges to have a sexual assault examination completed. The state will hold the evidence for up to 60 days while you decide if you would like to make a formal report to the police department.

For more information, please visit: www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/vs030.pdf

**Sexual Assault Examinations are paid for by the State of Connecticut. Any additional medical needs can be submitted to the Office of Victim Services (OVS). For more information, call OVS at 1-800-822-8428

Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Eastern CT 
24/7 Confidential Hotline: 1-888-999-5545

Safe Futures
24/7 Confidential Hotline: 1-860-701-6000

Lawrence and Memorial Hospital 
(860) 442-0711 (ask for the Emergency Room)

RAINN 
24/7 Confidential Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
24/7 Confidential Online Hotline: https://hotline.rainn.org/online

National Domestic Violence Hotline 
24/7 Confidential Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Online Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/what-is-live-chat/

CT Coalition Against Sexual Assault 
24/7 Confidential Hotline: 1-888-999-5545

CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence 
24/7 Confidential Hotline:1-888-774-2900

New London Police Department
Emergencies 911
Non-emergencies 860-447-5269

Waterford Police Department
Emergencies 911
Non-emergencies 860-442-9451 

Victim-Survivors of sexual violence at Connecticut College have the right to…

• Be referred to using the terms (victim, survivor), pronouns, name, and other language that feels the most affirming to them 
• Use the resources they feel most comfortable with
• Report to Title IX, the police, both, or neither, as applicable to the situation
• Access Supportive Measures without initiating a Formal Complaint
• Decide not to pursue a Formal Complaint at any time
• Go through a process that is fair, impartial, and reasonably prompt
• Have an advisor of their choosing present throughout an investigation & hearing 
• Be protected from retaliation 
• Talk about their experience with sexual violence at an SVPA event , WEI performance, or other similar activity without that information being reported or initiaiting a Formal Complaint

It is important to know that there is no one correct way to heal from sexual violence, dating violence, and/or trauma. An important part of the healing process is reclaiming power and making autonomous decisions that are best for the individual. A Confidential SVPA Advocate can help by providing onoing support and options to explore during the healing journey. However, if someone chooses not to meet with an Advocate, etc, there are healing resources that can be accessed and explored on one's own. Below is a partial list of such resources. 

Healing Guides

Self-Help Guide for Survivors of Rape or Sexual Abuse from Somerset & Avon Rape & Sexual Abuse Support 

A Student’s Guide to Radical Healing Zine by students from the Jean Nidetch Women’s Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas 

Toward Healing & Justice: A Handbook for Survivors of Sexual Violence from the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault

A Self-Help Guide to Healing and Understanding for Transgender Sexual Violence Survivors from the FORGE Transgender Sexual Violence Project

Resource Lists

“Ways We Can Soothe Ourselves from Our Homes” by Alisa Zipursky, Survivor

Resources for Healing After Body Trauma list of books and workbooks to explore 

Love & Healing Syllabus list of academic readings, podcasts, art, and videos and healing by Amanda R. Tachine & Z Nicolazzo

5 Ways to Use a Journal for Self-Care blog post

Mindful Coloring Pages that can be printed for free:

Feminist Mindful Coloring Pages

NNEDV Mindful Coloring Pages

NSVRC Coloring Pages

We Believe You Coloring Book 

You have the choice to report any crime to local law enforcement and/or the Title IX Coordinator. For more detailed information on reporting procedures, please see the Student Handbook (login required). The director of sexual violence prevention and advocacy, an SVPA Advocate, or a support person of your choosing can accompany and support you through the process of reporting. 

Reporting on campus

Formal complaints of sexual misconduct, stalking and/or intimate partner violence can be filed through the  or Campus Safety. The complaint may be addressed through the Title IX Complaint Investigation Process. There is no limitation to when complaints may be submitted.

You have the choice to report any crime to local law enforcement and/or the Title IX Coordinator. For more detailed information on reporting procedures, please see the Student Handbook (login required). The director of sexual violence prevention and advocacy, an SVPA Advocate, or a support person of your choosing can accompany and support you through the process of reporting. 

Reporting to the New London Police

The New London Police Department is available if you would like to report sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, and, possibly initiate a criminal investigation. Please call the New London Police Department at 860-447-5269. Legal options can be discussed with the New London State’s Attorney Office at 860-443-8444.

Alcohol and other drugs

An individual does not avoid or mitigate responsibility because they were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. If someone is incapacitated they can NOT legally give consent. If you are underage, the College's Amnesty policy is in place to ensure that you will not get in trouble if you report a sexual assault that happened while you were drinking.

The Clery Act

The Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. When an individual comes to one of the campus support system people, that person must inform the Senior Investigator and Complicance Officer that an incident was reported, per the Clery Act. However, privacy may be maintained — the victim's name and specific details do not need to be reported. Counselors and the College Chaplains may keep reports confidential and are not mandated to report any information.

Title IX

For the purposes of Title IX, sexual assault is considered a form of sexual harassment where the Office of Civil Rights guidelines require that, once an institution has received notice of the possible sexual harassment of a student, it should take immediate and appropriate steps to investigate what occurred, and if such is found to be the case, and take prompt and effective action to end the harassment and take steps to remedy the effects and prevent its reoccurrence. This course of action is the institution’s responsibility whether or not the student who was harassed makes a formal complaint or otherwise asks the school to take action. For more information, please see the Student Handbook.

You can reach the SVPA Confidential Advocates or the Director of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy, Nicole Powell, by setting up an appointment.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to text. Please call us, email us, or use the appointment calendar to set up a meeting. 

Yes! The Advocates are available to all Conn students, no matter where they are currently located. If you are not on campus, Confidential Advocates remain accessible by phone, email or meeting appointments.

Advocates are not mental health professionals. Instead, the Advocates have training on how to listen to your situation and help you explore your options by providing support, information, empowerment, and resources. They can help you get connected to other resources, including Student Counseling Services. Many people choose to see an Advocate and a therapist, either on or off campus. The options of pursuing counseling and advocacy are never mutually exclusive. 

SVPA Advocates can help you decide what is best for you on your healing journey-- whether or not you want to make a formal report, whether or how you tell your friends, family, or other loved ones about your experience, etc. Advocacy is non-directional and survivor-centered, which means that we do not give advice or tell you what to do; we help you figure out what is best for you, and support you through that process.

SVPA Advocacy is centered in, and driven by, autonomy & self-determination, which means that when you meet with an SVPA Advocate, we will trust that you are the expert of your own experiences and needs. You will be able to share as much-- or as little-- as you feel comfortable sharing, and you are always in control of what’s going on. 

The Advocate may ask you questions about how your experience is affecting you in order to help understand your needs. They will explain to you your reporting options, the other resources that are available to you, and the supportive measures that can be implemented to help you during the healing process. They will work with you to figure out what, if any, next steps make sense given your individual needs and circumstances.

Any additional meetings following your initial conversation with an advocate can be scheduled based upon availability. Advocates may follow up as needed.

Confidential resources on campus do not share information about an instance of sexual violence that has been shared with them. Names and details are kept confidential unless someone signs a Release of Information waiver. 

With the exception of Student Counseling Services and the College Chaplains, Confidential resources do share aggregate data about the number and nature of experiences disclosed to them, for Clery Act reporting purposes. No identifying details are shared in this data. 

Non-confidential resources on campus have an obligation to inform the Title IX Coordinator if someone discloses an experience of sexual violence to them. This notice does not mean that a formal Title IX report is being made or that a Title IX investigation will begin; it simply means that the person who experienced the incident will receive outreach from the Title IX Coordinator containing information about their rights and resources. 

It is also important to note that, for the purposes of legal cases, SVPA Advocates do not have statutory privilege, meaning that what is discussed with them is not protected and confidential in the eyes of the law. If you have any questions or concerns about this, the director of SVPA can provide you with more information or direct you to a community resource that has this privilege. 

You do not need to identify as a survivor to use SVPA services. SVPA Advocacy is available to anyone who has been impacted by sexual violence-- this may include friends, partners, and roommates of individuals who have directly experienced sexual violence, as well as the people who have experienced sexual violence themselves. 

It’s also totally okay to not know how to feel about an experience or to not have a label for it-- this is a common experience for a lot of people. You don’t have to feel comfortable using terms like “victim” or “survivor.” Many people have complicated feelings about how to refer to what happened to them-- there is no one right way to identify or talk about your experiences, and this is something that you can explore with an SVPA Advocate.

Members of the Conn Community can also meet with SVPA Advocates to discuss how to support a victim/survivor in their life. Simply reach out via one of the methods listed above! 

If you are looking for additional resources, you can click here to open a Google Drive folder of additional resources for friends & family of survivors.