Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Importance of Transparency:

• Inform students of your role as a Responsible Employee early in your conversation so that they can decide what information to share with you. For survivors of violence, their autonomy and choice has been taken away. Giving the power back whenever possible supports healing and better outcomes for our students.
• If a students shares something with you that you must reports, tell the student before you make the report. By explaining what to expect and why you have to make this report, you are showing respect to the student and let’s them know where they still have choice in the situation.

Share Campus Resources:

• Share about the Outreach & Advocacy Project. OAP will reach out to all students named in a report to Student Conduct and Community Support, and students are more likely to respond to our outreach if they are expecting it. This way we are able to explore their options in a confidential manner.
• Share other campus resources including Counseling and Identity Based Resource Centers, spaces where students can explore what they have experienced and their information will stay protected.
• We can support student autonomy by giving them choice whenever possible.

Warm Handoffs:

Here’s how to support a survivor while maintaining confidentiality if you’re connecting them with on-campus advocates:

• Explain What You Can Do: Tell the survivor how you can help, but also mention any limits to keeping things confidential (for example, if you are a PCC Responsible Employee).
• Let Them Lead: Make sure the survivor feels like they’re in charge and can guide the process.
• Ask Them What Matters Most: Find out what’s most important to them right now, and what they need most.
• Understand Different Priorities: Understand that what’s important to you might not match their needs.
• Give Them Choices: Offer different options for support without overwhelming them. Ask what they think would be most helpful.
• Offer More Support: Ask if they’d like to talk to an advocate who can provide extra resources and help, like PCC-specific support, community help, safety planning, or discussing reporting options.
• Make Sure Referrals Are Right: If you don’t know much about a resource, offer to call together to learn more and make sure it’s a good fit.
• Be Honest: Don’t say you’ll do something you can’t. It’s important to keep trust.
• Follow Up: If they need more info about a resource but can’t stay for a call, don’t promise to look into it later if you can’t. Not following up can make them feel let down and make your job harder.
• Focus on Their Strengths: Instead of trying to solve everything, focus on their strengths and how they’ve survived tough times.

Following these steps helps you support survivors while keeping their needs and privacy in mind.

Practice Statements:

If you are a Responsible Employee, here’s a script you can use when you first meet a student or if you think a student is going to tell you about something:

• “Hey, just so you know, I’m required to report any incidents of gender or sex-based harassment, violence, or discrimination that you tell me about, both in and out of the classroom. I would need to report it to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Support, including your name. They would then get in touch with you to offer support. You can find more info on how they handle reports on their website.
• However, if you want to make a confidential report or get information about resources and extra support, you can contact the Outreach and Advocacy Project, Women’s Resource Center, Multicultural Center, Veteran Resource Center, Queer Resource Center, or Counseling”