Resources

Designing and Implementing Informal Resolutions: Key Considerations for Colleges and Universities

Informal resolution covers a range of processes and practices considered alternative to adjudication in cases of dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking at institutions of higher education. Often including mediation, restorative justice, and shuttle negotiation or facilitation, informal resolutions are sometimes referred to as adaptable or alternative resolutions. Despite their name, these processes require no less intentionality than those involving investigation or hearings to respond effectively to sex and gender-based harm.

Assessing for Informal Resolution Opportunities in Domestic and Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Cases

When it comes to responding to dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking on college campuses, what constitutes a “good case” for an informal resolution process? The reality is that whether an informal resolution process, as opposed to an investigation and decision-making model, serves the involved parties becomes less about the incident itself and more about aligning with the unique needs of those directly involved and the needs of the broader institutional community.

Initial Meeting Checklist for Minor Survivors/Clients and their Caregivers/Guardians

This checklist helps civil attorneys and non-attorney legal advocates address the needs of minor survivors of dating/domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and their caregivers/guardians.

Victim Rights Law Center uses an empowerment model, and incorporates a client’s express preferences – including minor clients’ preferences – into our legal services. This checklist should be adapted to an individual minor survivor’s needs, abilities, and maturity level.

Initial Meeting Checklist for Minor Survivors/Clients and their Caregivers/Guardians

This guide focuses on the needs of survivors of dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are in middle school and high school. Victim Rights Law Center delivers trauma-informed legal representation to sexual violence survivors and has worked with experts in teen dating violence and stalking to help civil attorneys and legal advocates understand and address survivors’ safety needs following a traumatic event.

This guide should be adapted to the individual survivor’s needs, capabilities, and maturity level. It is not – nor is it meant to be comprehensive. Rather, this guide provides some scaffolding for ongoing safety planning conversations. Safety planning helps survivors think about ways they can feel safer. It also helps civil attorneys and legal advocates spot safety issues and identify strategies and/or remedies.

Legal Advocate Guide

This guide is a tool for legal advocates working with survivors of sexual violence. It is an introduction to legal advocacy covering a range of topics from working with survivors to walking the line between legal advocacy and unlicensed practice of law. There are also practical tips for effective advocacy. Each section provides a very basic introduction and can be read alone or as part of the entire guide.

Safety Planning: For Students Responsible for Sexual Misconduct on Campus

On college and university campuses, “Safety Planning” is a practice often utilized with survivors, those impacted by sexual misconduct. Research has suggested that Safety Planning for survivors is one of the most widely recommended activities for victims of sexual assault. According to Victim Rights Law Center, “an effective Safety Plan empowers the victim to reclaim a sense of safety and security by addressing immediate safety needs and outlining strategies to help reduce future incidents of harm.” Historically, Safety Planning has also been a tool used with adults who have been convicted of a sexual offense crime and are re-entering their communities, as well as for adolescents and children with problematic sexual behaviors who are living with their families or engaging in a reunification process with their families.

Being Deliberate: A Guide for Deciding Sanctions in Cases of Gender-based Misconduct at Institutions of Higher Education

Institutions of higher education must have a resolution process to address incidents of gender-based misconduct, including sexual assault, stalking, and dating and domestic violence. Within a resolution process, there are typically three general areas of action once a complaint has been filed: gathering information, exploring the information, and evaluating the information. This guide focuses on one aspect of the evaluative portion of the resolution process addressing issues of student misconduct, specifically related to sanctioning.