Sexual Harassment & Title IX

Sexual Misconduct and Gender-based Incidents

Whitman students are protected by and held accountable to Whitman’s Sexual Misconduct Policy & Title IX and the Whitman College Grievance Policy while studying off-campus. This is true even if a student is attending a program run by another organization (such as IES, SIT, CIEE) or a foreign university.

Whitman students studying on programs not administered by Whitman are also protected and held accountable to the program’s policies on sexual and gender-based misconduct. In other words, Whitman students are responsible for understanding and complying with both Whitman’s policies, as well as their OCS program’s policies.

If you are involved with sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or gender-based incident, our first concern is to provide immediate support to ensure your safety and wellbeing.

Steps to take if you think you may have been involved in sexual harassment, sexual assault, or gender-based incident:

• First: remember that a sexual assault or gender-based incident is NEVER the victim’s fault.
• Report the incident to your local program staff to access local support resources such as confidential victim services, access to medical assistance, help with reporting to police (only if you choose to do so), potential housing changes, academic accommodations, etc.
• Know that Whitman on-campus support services are available to you from a distance regardless of where you are studying and regardless of who else (fellow student, stranger, etc.) is involved in the incident. 
• Contact the Director of Equity and Compliance/Title IX Coordinator, Cassandre Beccai, at office tel 509-522-4314 or cell (1) 724-249-6244 or titleix@whitman.edu, complete the online reporting form.
• Attitudes and laws related to sexual misconduct and/or assault will vary from country to country. For this reason, if you believe you have been involved in an incident, we highly recommend that you consult with someone in Whitman’s Off-Campus Studies, Title IX Director (titleix@whitman.edu), or the Sexual Assault Victim's Advocate (sava@ywcaww.org) for guidance about how to proceed.  Depending on local conditions, it may or may not be beneficial to report a sexual assault to local police. Seek guidance from your local program staff and Whitman Off-Campus Studies about this.
• If you are a responding student and an incident report is brought against you, you will be held to the standards and adjudication of your program and those of Whitman College.

Things you should know when considering reporting:

• Most OCS programs do not have one designated Title IX officer but rather encourage participants to talk with whichever staff member they are comfortable with. 
• OCS program staff may be legally obligated to report incidents to Whitman College or others but this does not oblige the student to pursue adjudication.  It is an opportunity for Whitman to share resource information with a victim.
• Contact the Sexual Assault Victim's Advocate employed by the YWCA at sava@ywcaww.org, if you would like to talk to someone who is not obligated to report incidents and can maintain confidentiality.
• Even if you are getting support from your program, we encourage you to report the incident to Whitman as well. 
• A complete copy of the Whitman sexual harassment policy is available in the College’s Sexual Misconduct and Grievance policies at:

Whitman College Grievance Policy

Sexual Misconduct Policy & Title IX

Details about how to handle an allegation of sexual harassment or assault can be found at: Sexual Misconduct Policy & Title IX

Sexual Harassment

Tips that should help reduce harassment are as follows:

• It is important to remember that student safety comes first. If students feel uncomfortable with a situation, they should not worry about being polite or offending someone. Students should follow their intuition, and get out of potentially unsafe situations as soon as possible.
• In many societies (Italy, France, Latin America, and some parts of Asia) making any kind of eye contact at all or smiling at local men will be construed as a sexual advance.
• Be aware of how clothing may send cultural signals. In some societies, wearing short skirts or shorts, crop tops, camisoles or low necklines will be associated with promiscuous behavior. Students even may wish to dress more conservatively than their local peers, in order to counteract local stereotypes about US tourists.
• In some countries and regions (such as Italy, Greece, the Middle East and Latin America) it may not be appropriate for young women to walk alone on the street unaccompanied even during the day. Women may discover that they need to be accompanied by a friend when walking around town in order to avoid being followed or cat called.
• Watch what local women do to protect themselves and follow suit. In many societies, students might observe women walking arm and arm, or huddled together in conversation. This is a tactic for avoiding the unwanted intrusions of men on the street.
• Find out from program staff the safest way to respond to unwanted advances in the host culture and what to say, if anything, in the local language.  In some places it is best to ignore comments from men, in others there is a particular phrase in the local language that can be used to put a stop to the harassment.
• In some traditional societies, young people do not travel alone without their family members or friends. In these countries, a young person who travels alone, or stays alone at a guesthouse may be harassed for sexual favors because, by that culture’s norms, that individual is sending a message to locals that they have low moral standards.

Students who encounter any form of harassment should inform their program staff and the Off-Campus Studies Office immediately.