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Resolution 23-01

 

By

April 12, 2023

 

Resolution 23-01 Concerning Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
Resolution of the Employee Forum
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

April 12, 2023

WHEREAS, the Mission of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (“UNC-Chapel Hill”) Employee Forum is to “ advocate for and constructively address the challenges, needs, and opportunities of UNC-Chapel Hill Employees” and to “continually improve the quality of life at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for its Students, Faculty, and Employees through mutual understanding, recognition of Employee contributions, and respect for the worth of the individual”1; and

WHEREAS, the month of April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the United States to pursue the ever-present need of raising public awareness about sexual assault, educating communities and individuals on how to respond to instances of sexual assault, and building the necessary community-level social and cultural change needed to prevent sexual assault; and

WHEREAS, “sexual assault” is “having or attempting to have sexual contact with another individual without consent”2 and “sexual harassment” is “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature … [or] offensive remarks about a person’s sex.”3

WHEREAS, members of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus community are primary or secondary victims/survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment; and

WHEREAS, sexual assault affects people of all genders, races, abilities, and sexual orientations, and disproportionately affects individuals ages 12-34, women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI)4,5; and

WHEREAS, sexual assault and sexual harassment have a significant negative impact on our campus climate and undermine progress towards UNC-Chapel Hill’s Strategic Plan Initiative 1: Build Our Community Together6; and

WHEREAS, “every member of our campus community is entitled to live, learn, and work in an environment that is inclusive and welcoming”7; and

WHEREAS, the Employee Forum has declared by resolution in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2022 its unequivocal support for the continued development of strong measures to prevent and respond appropriately to incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment on our campus; now, therefore, be it…

 

RESOLVED that the Employee Forum reaffirms its commitment to a safe and inclusive campus community by:

  • annually recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month;
  • strongly supporting campus8, local, and state efforts to prevent violence in all its forms; and
  • connecting victims/survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment with support and resources.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Employee Forum petitions the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office, the Office of Human Resources, the University Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Student Affairs, UNC Police, and University administration to continue to:

  • hold and promote Sexual Assault Awareness Month events;
  • support prevention efforts of the University, including the work of the Violence Prevention Coordinators, the UNC Gender-Based Violence Prevention Advisory Group, and the recommendations contained in the Group’s Fall 2020 Report9;
  • support the work of the Gender Violence Services Coordinators10 and care for victims/survivors;
  • recommit to developing the Carolina Women’s Center, including a potential redesign, increased funding, and additional staffing that meets the needs of the campus community;
  • assess the campus climate around issues of sexual assault and sexual harassment, including data collected through Clery Act reporting and cases filed with, and investigated by, the Equal Opportunity Office;
  • publish EOC annual reports more quickly so the campus community has up-to-date information about sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus;
  • make the findings of that assessment public and communicate about those findings;
  • incorporate community feedback to maintain and annually update the University’s policies related to gender-based violence and harassment and related training modules; and
  • hold the perpetrators of sexual assault and sexual harassment accountable.
  • advance discourse on the systemic and social-cultural aspects that enable instances of sexual assault to persist.

On behalf of the Delegates of the Employee Forum,

Katie Musgrove, Chair

 

Footnotes

  1. UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Forum. (2023). “Mission.” https://employeeforum.unc.edu/
  2. UNC-Chapel Hill. (2022, August 15). Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct Including Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Violence, Interpersonal Violence and Stalking. https://policies.unc.edu/TDClient/2833/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=132487
  3. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Sexual Harassment. https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment
  4. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). (2022). Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence.
  5. Human Rights Campaign. (n.d.). Sexual Assault and the LGBTQ Community. https://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and-the-lgbt-community
  6. UNC-Chapel Hill. (2020, December). Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good. https://carolinanext.unc.edu/
  7. UNC-Chapel Hill Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office. (n.d.). Our Work. https://eoc.unc.edu/whoweare/our-work/
  8. See specific recommendations in Section IV.E.: Sexual Violence of: UNC-Chapel Hill Campus Safety Commission. (2020). Annual Report of the Campus Safety Commission. https://csc.unc.edu/2020-annual-report/.
  9. Klein, L.B. (2021, January 13). Fall 2020 Report. UNC Gender-Based Violence Prevention Advisory Group. https://safe.unc.edu/awareness-and-education/
  10. UNC-Chapel Hill. Gender Violence Services Coordinators. (2022). https://gvsc.unc.edu/

 

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