Resources forFamily & Friends

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Contact

Office of Title IX Programs and Compliance
Hubbs Health Center
119 St. Clair Street
Geneva, NY 14456

Phone: (315) 781-3922
Fax: (315) 781-4564
TitleIX@hws.edu

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
For assistance after hours and on weekends contact Campus Safety at 315-781-3333.

Options After an Incident
Anonymous Report Form

Resources for Family and Friends

It can be difficult to know how to respond when someone tells you they have been impacted by Prohibited Conduct, whether sexual harassment, discriminatory harassment, or sexual assault, but especially when that person is a friend or family member. The most important thing you can do is listen non-judgmentally and take the information seriously. It is also crucial for you to continue to take care of yourself while helping connect your friend or family member to support and resources.

We have compiled a few commonly asked questions for those supporting someone impacted by this type of conduct, whether the person they are supporting has experienced misconduct or is responding to an accusation of misconduct:

  • Equal Opportunity and Title IX staff can discuss the general investigation process and support and resources with family members or friends. We cannot provide information about a specific investigation or complaint of sexual misconduct without explicit written permission from the individual involved, due to FERPA (Family Rights and Privacy Act) regulations. Visit this website for more information about FERPA.
  • Do not try to gather information or investigate the situation on behalf of your friend or family member.
  • Avoid contacting the other involved parties as efforts to do so may appear retaliatory even if that is not your intent.
  • Your friend or family member may choose to simultaneously pursue the Colleges' investigation process for an alleged violation of the HWS Interim Title IX, Harassment and Discrimination policy AND a criminal, law-enforcement process. Note that HWS’ process and procedure for determining if the policy has been violated is not, in and of itself, a criminal proceeding. The policy reaffirms HWS’ values and expectations of behavior as outlined by Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Clery Act, the New York State Enough is Enough Law, and VAWA.

For additional resources on how to support a survivor of sexual misconduct, visit this Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network webpage.