The New Hampshire Violence Against Women Campus Consortium Statement on Title IX:

We believe that every student deserves to learn in an environment that is safe and free from harassment and abuse. We acknowledge and respect that there are some victims who do not wish to engage with the criminal justice system, and that the criminal justice system is limited in its ability to implement immediate safety measures on campus. Schools have the ability to act immediately to make adjustments to class schedules, living arrangements, and other aspects of campus life that are essential to a student’s ability to learn and feel safe. Allowing schools to continue to intervene in this way is in the best interest of all students.

 

It is critical that we do not limit survivors’ options and that we continue to provide schools with the tools necessary to maintain a safe learning environment for all of their students. This includes the ability to make accommodations as well as to utilize a safe and equitable process to determine if a campus policy was violated, and, if so, what steps need to be taken to restore the survivor’s sense of safety and protect their campus community.

 

It is important for schools to understand that they are not alone in working to combat sexual violence on their campus. We recommend universities and colleges reach out to service providers in their community to bolster their prevention efforts, to strengthen their response to sexual misconduct, to connect students to support services, and to ensure that policies and procedures are both equitable and sensitive to the needs of survivors.

 

We encourage institutions of higher education, supporting organizations, and students to weigh in on the effectiveness of Title IX during the public comment period, which ends on September 20th.

The New Hampshire Violence Against Women Campus Consortium is a statewide collaborative of New Hampshire colleges, universities, and professionals working collectively to develop and implement strategies to end interpersonal violence on NH’s campuses. The Consortium has participation from 23 NH colleges, both public and private, as well as the system office for the Community College System of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and its member programs.