Higher Education Institute: Avoiding Compliance Pitfalls Across Your Campus From Admissions to the Title IX Office to the Board Room

Transcription

1 Higher Education Institute: Avoiding Compliance Pitfalls Across Your Campus From Admissions to the Title IX Office to the Board Room Understanding the Impact of Sexual Assault on Survivors Presented by: Elizabeth J. Carroll, PhD Staff Psychologist, Center for Counseling and Student Wellness Hobart & William Smith Colleges Adapted in part from CALCASA and Rebecca Campbell, MSU

2 Reflection Exercise

3 Sexual Violence General Prevalence Rates 17 Between 17-25% of females and 3% of males will be the victim of attempted or completed rape in their life time; Approx. 5% of men report being forced to penetrate someone else at some time in their lives; and About 20% of women are sexually victimized in college, according to the CDC. In the U.S., a sexual assault occurs every 2 minutes. SOURCES: (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, CDC)

4 Campus Impact 18 Three percent of all college women become victims of rape (either completed or attempted) within a 9-month academic year; That s about 35 crimes for every 1000 students. 37.4% female rape victims report first being raped between ages of 18-24; Members of LGBTQ community are disproportionately at risk, as are members of many ethnic minorities. SOURCES: US Dept of Justice, CDC, HRC, National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2010, American Bar Association.

5 Why are Sex Crimes Underreported? Embarrassment and shame. Fear of being judged. Not sure how to report on or off campus. Students may seek medical treatment but not report to law enforcement. Survivor may not label or identify their experience(s) as sexual violence

6 Sexual Assault Case Attrition Not Referred/ Not Charged Charged, Charges Later Dropped Site 1 (Rural) Site 2 (Rural) Site 3 (Mid) Site 4 (Mid) Site 5 (Urban) Site 6 (Urban) 80% 89% 91% 84% 89% 82% 2% 5% 0% 7% 0% 4% Plea Bargained 13% 4% 4% 7% 6% 13% Trial: Acquittal 3% 0% 0% 1% 2% 1% Trial: Conviction 1% 1% 5% 1% 3% 1% SOURCE: Campbell et al., 2012

7 Tools for First Responders to Assist Survivors 22 First responders can make a huge impact on how survivors process their trauma. First responder reactions will affect a victim s receptivity to: Receive medical treatment Provide information for offender apprehension/prosecution

8 The stuff they say makes no sense. They lie all the time, I can tell. They can t get their story straight. I see them hedge, making it up as they go along. No way it s true. No one would act like that if it s true. SOURCE: Campbell, 2005; Campbell et al., 2009; Campbell et al., in progress

9 The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault

10 Brain-Body Regions Impacted by Trauma HPA Axis Balances body following stress by releasing of various hormones/chemicals SOURCE: Southwick et al., 2005

11 Brain-Body Regions Impacted by Trauma Catecholomines: Fight or flight response Cortisol: Energy available Opiods: Prevent pain Oxytocin: Promotes good feelings SOURCE: Southwick et al., 2005

12 Memory Processes Impacted by Trauma Hippocampus processes information into memories Encoding = Organizing sensory information Consolidation = Grouping information into memories and storing them Amygdala specializes in the processing of emotional memories (works with the hippocampus) Both structures are VERY sensitive to hormonal fluctuations SOURCE: Southwick et al., 2005

13 Memory Exercise

14 What Happens During A Sexual Assault? Amygdala Detects Threat Activates Hypothalamus HPA Axis Kicks In Hormonal Flood SOURCE: Banks, 2002; Southwick et al., 2005

15 What Happens During A Sexual Assault? Increased Stress Hormones Impaired Functioning in Hippocampus Memories Fragmented BUT: Alcohol use during the assault may prevent encoding which means there s nothing to retrieve Memory Recall Can Be Slow & Difficult *Events of the Assault CAN Be Recalled Accurately* SOURCE: Koss et al., 1995, 1996; Roozendaal et al., 2009; Rubin et al., 2008

16 Case Study: Memory Fragmentation 25 year-old woman Raped by a friend s brother at 4th July party Filed police report Detective interview caused significant distress

17 Case Study: Memory Fragmentation He wouldn t let up, pounding me with question after question after question. Trying to trick me, trying to get me to mess up. I wanted to say, hold on, give me a minute to think. No, he kept coming at me.

18 Case Study: Memory Fragmentation It was classic good cop / bad cop. He stormed off and another detective sat down next to me. He offered me a cup of coffee. Coffee? OK fine. How do I take it? WHAT? Why does he care how I take my coffee? Well, he did. He made me coffee. He gave me time to just sit, collect my thoughts.

19 Case Study: Memory Fragmentation We talked it through. And I didn t feel rattled and freaked out. I m sure I was incoherent and he just let it roll. He was patient. I felt like I was piecing it together, like a puzzle, we were putting together a puzzle together. And drinking coffee.

20 Case Study: Memory Fragmentation I: So, why did you do that? (give her the coffee) R: It helps. Not the coffee so much, just the moment to let it all come together in their heads. I: What do you mean? R: I don t know why it s like that, I ve just noticed that over the years. If you give them a few minutes to breathe... it starts to make more sense. I don t know why, it just does.

21 Trauma s Neurological Impact Catecholomines: Fight or flight response Cortisol: Energy available Opiods: Prevent pain Oxytocin: Promotes good feelings THOSE HORMONES IMPAIR MEMORY CONSOLIDATION SOURCE: Southwick et al., 2005

22 What Happens During A Sexual Assault? Cathecholamines Increase ( ) Opiods Increase ( ) Corticosteriods Decrease ( ) Impairs rational thought Causes flat affect Reduces energy SOURCE: Banks, 2002; Southwick et al., 2005

23 Tonic Immobility (TI) Sometimes referred to as rape-induced paralysis Autonomic (uncontrollable) mammalian response in extremely fearful situations Increased breathing, eye closure, paralysis 12-50% rape victims experience TI during assault TI is more common in victims who have been assaulted before (childhood, adolescence, or adult) SOURCE: Fuse et al., 2007; Galiano et al., 1993; Heidt et al., 2005

24 Case Study: Tonic Immobility College house party 20 year-old woman Agreed to go to one of the bedrooms Told man to stop He didn t and she froze Lay immobile afterwards Men lined up on the porch to take turns raping her

25 Case Study: Tonic Immobility Victim had rape kit and filed a police report Police didn t pick up rape kit ( a sloppy mess ) Police closed case The real reason? TONIC IMMOBILITY A DOCUMENTED NEUROBIOLOGICAL CONDITION

26 Take Home Lessons Neurobiological changes can lead to flat affect, strange emotions, or emotional swings Hormonal soup Often misinterpreted as being cavalier or lying Wide range of emotions are normal, and it can be helpful to normalize those reactions SOURCE: Campbell & Patterson, 2011

27 Take Home Lessons Neurobiological changes can make memory consolidation and recall difficult Story may seem fragmented or sketchy Misinterpreted as evasiveness or lying Although it may take time and patience for memory to consolidate, that does not mean the memories are necessarily false or untrustworthy SOURCE: Campbell & Patterson, 2011; Koss et al., 1995, 1996

28 Take Home Lessons Tonic immobility is often frightening to victims Associated with increased self-blame Associated with decreased likelihood of seeking help The reactions of friends, family, and service providers to a disclosure of TI are often hurtful Helpful to explain what TI is and normalize it SOURCE: Fuse et al., 2007; Galiano et al., 1993; Heidt et al., 2005; Marx et al., 2008

29 Dispel Misconceptions about Sexual Assault There is no predetermined way that a person who has been victimized is supposed to respond.

30 Training Provides a Lens into Survivor s Experience 24 Survivors of sexual assault are statistically likely to be asked to recount the assault to ten or more strangers should they choose to seek help. Each disclosure forces the survivor to relive the incident.

31 Training Helps Responders to Support the Survivor 25 Knowledge increases sensitivity allowing responders to react in a manner which fits the situation. Allows first responders to engage the survivor/witnesses in a manner which will better support the responder s ability to get facts and apprehend offenders. Remember: Put the survivor in control to the extent possible. In sexual assault (as in any form of crime), their control has been taken away.

32 Prepares Responders to Effectively Support Survivors 26 Some common reactions of Survivors after an assault: Shock Shame Anger Confusion Remember your own reaction to the 4 Things reflection exercise

33 Prepare to Support All Survivors 28 Does the survivor self identify as male, female or another gender? Does the survivor self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual identity? Does the survivor observe specific cultural and/or religious practices? Does the survivor have physical or cognitive disabilities?

34 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 32 Re-experiencing Distressing recollections of the trauma Distressing dreams about the event Reliving the experience (flashbacks) When flashbacks are triggered, survivor may experience range of emotions Physical/sensory reactions to reminders of the trauma

35 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 33 Avoidance Efforts to avoid trauma related thoughts or feelings Efforts to avoid trauma related activities or situations Not remembering important aspects of the assault Less interest in enjoyable activities Detachment from others Feeling numb

36 How to Support Survivors 34 Do not make assumptions. Not showing emotion does not mean that an assault did not occur.

37 How to Support Survivors 35 Make eye contact. Be mindful of approach, tone of voice, facial expression, body language. Be mindful of surrounding environment for example, the assault location may also be the survivor s room.

38 Supporting Survivors 36 Offer impartial but sensitive treatment, and document these efforts. Show care. Keep in mind the survivor s feelings. Follow-up With survivor With the advocate

39 How to Support Survivors 37 Encourage: Reporting Medical Treatment Counseling

40 Self-Care and Team-Care Impacts of trauma can spread through systems trying to support survivors Prioritize emotional health of responders including you and members of your team Consider ways to implement structural emotional healthcare supports Self-Care Team-Care

41 Questions