The Whitworthian

Issue date: 11/20/07 Last Updated: 11/24/07

Whitworth has institutional procedures for responding to and reporting a rape or sexual assault.

In the case of the sexual assault on North Waikiki Road Nov.1, the security department has been working closely with law enforcement, vice president for finance and administration Brian Benzel said. 

"Because the incident happened off-campus, the sheriff's office is the lead and our [security] department provides support," Benzel said. "As we do investigate, we work with them to provide assistance to complete the investigation."

Benzel said the security officers at Whitworth are not the same as police officers. The police officers have broader authority, Benzel said.

The Nov. 1 incident will be reviewed at the next Executive Safety Committee meeting, Benzel said.

Benzel said administrators are driven by the top priority, which is the health and safety of students and staff members.

"This [rape] is an equally horrifying situation, whether it takes place on or off campus," Benzel said.

Benzel said in the case of a rape or sexual assault on campus, Whitworth's security department, the police, the Spokane County Sheriff's department and medical personnel act simultaneously. 

The first concern is to provide immediate assistance to the victim, Benzel said. Then investigators are brought in and the site is secured, Benzel said.

Benzel said he infers that in this incident, someone called 9-1-1 first and then the incident was forwarded to the Sheriff's Office. However, the security department could be the first responder in an incident, Benzel said.

Benzel said if there is an appearance of crime on campus, the security department will contact the Sheriff's department.

"We have a good working relationship with law enforcement," Benzel said.

Procedures for reporting a rape or sexual assault on campus

Associate dean of students Dick Mandeville said there are institutional procedures for reporting an on campus rape or sexual assault.

Mandeville said every situation is different, but that the goal is to provide students the care they need and inform them of their legal options.

"We would need to operate on the principle that it's a traumatic event," Mandeville said.

Mandeville said if a rape or sexual assault occurs on campus, the immediate and fundamental needs would be handled first, such as medical attention and counseling support for the victim.

Mandeville said if the victim wishes, administration could contact professors to let them know that the student would not be coming to class. However, the underlying principle is to take care of the immediate need, Mandeville said.

Some of these immediate needs include addressing the victim's current housing situation and asking if that situation needs to change, Mandeville said. 

Mandeville said if a rape or sexual assault occurs on campus, the date, time and possibly the location of the incident must be recorded with the security department and a note made in the campus security report. However, a name is not recorded, Mandeville said.

The process of reporting such an incident is designed to protect the victim, Director of the Health and Counseling Center Jan Murray said. If the victim wants to remain anonymous, the rape or sexual assault is recorded on the books as a "Jane Doe" incident in case the victim wants to follow through with prosecution, Murray said.

According to the 2006-2007 campus security report, there were no reported incidents of sex offenses between 2004 and 2006.

In addition to having the option of pressing criminal charges, the victim has the option of going through a campus disciplinary process, according to the report.

"We strongly encourage victims of sexual assault to contact the associate dean of students or the Counseling Center to request any assistance they need to learn what their options are regarding reporting a sexual assault and pressing charges," according to the report.

In terms of the campus disciplinary process for a sex offense, disciplinary meetings include review of the evidence and a determination of guilt or innocence, according to the report.

"Sanctions the institution may impose following a final determination of an institutional disciplinary processing regarding forcible or non-forcible sex offenses include a fine, educational requirements, counseling, restriction to campus access, a change in housing assignment, cancellation of the housing contract and suspension," according to the report.

A victim also has the option of filing an incident report with the Sheriff's department without formally filing charges, Mandeville said.

Murray said she is aware that incidents have probably occurred where students did not come to the Health Center because they were worried about confidentiality.

However, Murray said the Health Center would waive any fees so there would not be a record of the incident on a student's record.

"The Health Center would waive fees in order to protect the confidentiality of the individual," Murray said. "We have done this in the past."

Contact Julie Wootton at julie.wootton@whitworthian.com.

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