Campus Victim/Survivor Advocate and Campus-Serving Victim/Survivor Advocate

This course is designed as the first level of Campus Advocate training. It covers material essential for all campus-based advocates working with survivors of dating/domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. This training is designed to complement and not replace each state’s victim/survivor advocate certification. Campus Advocate training is focused specifically on the unique role of survivor/victim advocates on college and university campuses, including federal requirements under Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and Title IX. Four-Day Advanced Advocacy training options are available upon completion of the two day training. Advanced Advocacy training focuses on higher level advocacy needs such as data management, working with students on interim measures, and in-depth discussions on working with underrepresented student populations. This introductory advocacy course emphasizes the role of survivor advocates on campus. Faculty for this course have more than 23 years of experience working with survivors of dating/domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault on campus. Institutions across the country are seeing a marked increase in the number of students who are seeking help after experiencing interpersonal violence during their time on campus. Research and best practice document that confidential advocates improve survivors’ experience when accessing support or seeking a resolution. VAWA regulations now require that student complainants and respondents have access to an advisor of their choice throughout the campus reporting process. Pending federal legislation and OCR guidance both point to the availability of confidential advisors as a best practice for campuses. While every college and university in the country is required by the Department of Education to have a campus Title IX Coordinator, each institution may soon be required to provide a confidential advisor for student survivors as well, either a designated university employee or a contracted local community service provider. Existing advocates on campus play a significant role in an institution’s compliance with Title IX, the Clery Act, and VAWA section 304. Many campuses are hiring new staff to fill this critical role, sometimes without prior advocacy experience. Other campuses are contracting for these advocacy services with local rape crisis centers, which may lack understanding of federal requirements facing institutions of higher education. This course will address these gaps in knowledge for higher education professionals and local community agency advocates on the specific role of the campus advocate. This introductory course is focused on the nature and dynamics of all forms of interpersonal violence covered under VAWA section 304, the role of advocates in compliance, assisting students through law enforcement and university investigation processes, students’ right to ask for interim measures, best practices for advocating for students on campus, and fostering critical collaborations both on and off campus. Attendees will participate in a curriculum covering what every campus advocate needs to know to do the job effectively. The two-day course will include case studies and opportunities for participants to grapple with the competing demands of campus advocates in order to best serve survivors. You will not only spend two days with trainers who have expert content knowledge on the topic, but who have worked with hundreds of student survivors throughout their tenure in campus environments.