Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Angela Seguin" <>]

Hello Colleagues,

After a few years of offering my services to our Judicial Affairs office for 
training of hearing officers & appellate board members on sexual assault, our 
Judicial Affairs office has now invited me to do just that.  We'd like to 
prevent situations in which hearing officers or boards get caught up in their 
own assessment of how a victim is reacting/emoting during a hearing, or 
focussing on information that seems cloudy or confusing in the victim's story 
(due to how the brain works during a trauma), and using this assessment to 
incorrectly draw conclusions about the victim's credibility.  So I am 
thinking it would be beneficial to cover survivors' feelings, physical and 
mental reactions, and trauma responses that are common.  I am also thinking 
it would help to focus on "consent" - understanding the critera for consent 
and important considerations in determining whether or not consent was 
present.  I like how some other schools have given good case-examples of 
situations where consent is, or is not, present.   I was thinking of 
utilizing a case-study approach.

Do any of you have experience with providing this kind of training?  I'm 
looking for any pointers, helpful tips, exercises or handouts that you have 
found most useful for this purpose.  I also welcome any cautionary tales or 
pitfalls to try to avoid.

Thank you,
Angela

Angela DiNunzio Seguin
Program Coordinator
S.O.S. (Sexual Offense Support)
Wellspring: Student Wellness Program
University of Delaware
(302) 831-3457
http://www.udel.edu/wellspring