Statement Regarding Gender and Sexual Violence and/or Harassment
In response to the release of the Georgetown 2019 Sexual Assault and Misconduct Climate Survey results (https://sexualassault.georgetown.edu/2019surveyresults), the Department of Black Studies will continue to work to foster a department that seeks to prevent gender and sexual violence and challenge existing university culture that contributes to hostile environments for marginalized communities.
Title IX
The Department of Black Studies is committed to radical black feminist interventions to prevent, decrease, and cease incidents of gender and sexual violence and harassment on campus through education and pedagogy that confronts systems and structures that lead to such violence. We support survivors and bystander interveners in their decision to report incidents of gender and sexual violence and/or harassment. If you are a student at Georgetown University and are a victim-survivor of gender/sexual violence and harassment and want emergency police assistance contact the GUPD Sexual Assault Response Team at 202-687-4383 or MPD at 911.
Students who wish to file a report without involving the police can also use the online form (https://sexualassault.georgetown.edu/report) to report incidents such as:
Bullying, Campus Environment, Domestic Violence, Hate Crimes, Hate Speech, Hazing, Micro-Aggression, Physical Assault (non-intimate relationship), Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment (including speech, actions, etc.), Sexual Voyeurism, Stalking, Other
We strongly advocate and encourage survivors to seek counseling via CAPS university services, Student Health Center, or Campus Ministry.
Get Help
Students who have experienced gender or sexual assault, can find information through on how to get help at: https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/tmfncv7rjcs91c59dbo6ja5dzoih2k9h
Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS): For emergencies and crises on weekends or after hours, a CAPS clinician-on-call is available by calling (202) 444-PAGE (7243). When uncertain of what actions to take, call (202) 687-6985 to work out a specific strategy for getting help for a particularly reluctant or an especially troubled student.
DC Rape Crisis Center
(202) 333-RAPE (24/7 hotline)
Faculty within the Department of Black Studies are by law mandatory reporters of any incident of gender/sexual violence and harassment that we become aware of involving Georgetown students, staff, and faculty.
Beyond Title IX
Because the Department of Black Studies is focused on the intersectional study of race, enslavement, colonization, freedom, and decolonization, we reject the notion that interrogating the constructs of gender and sexuality, especially its hierarchical social structures that result in repressive policies and physical violence, should not be a part of our departmental mission. As we continue to follow Title IX rules of mandatory reporting and compliance, we will also continue to take seriously the field’s social justice imperative to simultaneously advocate for structural accountability of system that disproportionately harms the most vulnerable groups in our communities and consider other alternative community approaches suggested by our student population within and outside of the university. As a department, we pledge to be proactive, as opposed to reactive to individual incidents, and to do so in part by facilitating programming throughout the year that addresses these issues. We agree to commit to working with student organizations and leaders who seek out collaborations with us to secure long term commitments from the university to address prevention of gender-based violence, sexual harassment and violence, as well as ensure designated and trained victim advocacy, not just reporting disclosure, and grievance processes that address considerations of race, class, gender, gender identity, sexuality, immigration status, and nationality.
We include the following links for those interested in beginning conversation about or actions of radical black feminist interventions via the following organizations and websites:
Incite! Resources for Organizing:
- https://incite-national.org/resources-for-organizing/
- https://incite-national.org/2018/10/05/building-accountable-communities-a-video-series/
- https://incite-national.org/incite-critical-resistance-statement/
Futures Without Violence: https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/PublicCommunications/beyondtitleIXfinal.pdf
Coaches Corner: http://www.coachescorner.org/