Education and Training

During New Student Orientation every year, incoming undergraduates view video scenarios depicting various forms of sexual misconduct followed by small group discussions facilitated by orientation leaders. Students are given information about sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking and bystander intervention. The students receive an overview of the confidential advocacy resource on campus, options to report to the police, file a complaint with the Title IX coordinator or pursue a student conduct process. This program has been evaluated and found to reduce myths related to interpersonal violence and increase willingness to intervene as a bystander in situations in which someone might be at risk of being harmed.

New transfer students and international students receive an annual presentation about the sexual misconduct policy, advocacy services, and bystander information.

The Title IX coordinator, through the Office for Access and Equity, provides compliance education about sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct, policies, bystander information, options and resources for all orientations held for incoming graduate students, residents, post doctoral students, and fellows in the health professions.

• Domestic Violence Awareness Month occurs in October during the fall semester and consists of a series of events including tabling, movie screenings, exhibits, workshops, and educational programs. Participants are made aware of the resources on campus through announcements and brochures.
• Peers to Allies: Lighting the Flame in UIC Social Justice Leadership occurs in the fall semester and is a violence prevention program that situates leadership, ally building, bystander education, crisis support and social justice as the cornerstones for student engagement. Through a three-day retreat, students learn leadership skills and how to recognize interpersonal violence, effectively intervene as a bystander and refer students to advocacy services and available campus options to file complaints or pursue the student conduct process.
• Intergroup Dialogue: Exploring Race and Gender occurs in the fall semester and is a three credit class offered through the honors college that explores the construction of social identities, how interpersonal violence can be an outgrowth of power, privilege and oppression, how to dialogue across difference, intervene as a bystander, become an ally and social change agent.
• Reimagining Masculinity Series occurs over the fall and spring semesters and is a project that has emerged as a Cultural Centers collaboration to engage male identified individuals in self-exploration about the social construction of masculinity in order to cultivate supportive allies for the fight against interpersonal violence.
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month occurs in April during the spring semester and consists of a series of events including tabling, movie screenings, exhibits, workshops, and educational programs. Participants are made aware of the resources on campus through announcements and brochures.

• Enough is Enough occurs during the spring semester and is a campaign and program series organized by the Wellness Center in collaboration with campus units to highlight other forms of interpersonal violence such as bullying that stem from homo and transphobia, racism and sexism.
• Posters are displayed at bus shelters to increase awareness of the Campus Advocacy Network services, stalking, domestic violence, sexual assault and consent. Posters about sexual harassment are displayed throughout campus. Posters are distributed throughout campus housing.
• Social Media is utilized to promote programs and bystander messages. For example, Bystander Kitty is a meme created to convey bystander messages and is posted on a monthly basis through the MASV and Campus Advocacy Network Face Book pages. Twitter is also used to connect with students.

Workshops about sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, sexual harassment and bystander intervention are offered to students and employees upon request. On an annual basis workshops are presented to students who live in the residence halls, are a member of student organizations, fraternities and sororities or who are taking academic classes, as well as faculty and staff in academic departments, campus units and the UIC Hospital.

Workshops about sexual misconduct cover information about sexual misconduct definitions, UIC’s policy against sexual misconduct, consent, resources, on and off campus resources as well as campus advocacy technical assistance with helping students file a complaint with the police, Title IX investigations, student conduct process and/or seeking civil or criminal orders of protection, academic accommodations and other remedies. Bystander workshops focus on assisting students in recognizing interpersonal violence, taking ownership of their role in interpersonal violence prevention and teaching students the various ways in which they can safely and effectively intervene.

Examples of annual workshops include:

• Anti-rape 101 workshops with Greek Organizations
• Bystander 101 workshops for Greek Organizations, Latin American Recourse and Education Services Student Leaders, Honors College and Enough is Enough program
• Healthy Relationship and Domestic Violence workshop for Housing and LAS class
• Workshop to Latin American and Recruitment Services students and LAS, Honors College and Critical Conversations Classes
• Survivor Support workshop for Greek Organizations
• Ending Rape Culture workshops for Gender and Women’s Studies Classes and Housing
• Sexual Misconduct workshops for Campus Housing and campus units
• One Love Escalation workshop to students, faculty and staff