From Classroom to Dorm Room: Serving Survivors with Disabilities on College Campuses Kaitlin Shetler, MSW, Senior Program Associate Vera Institute of Justice August 20, 2019 Poll: Audience Background Are you a disability services provider? Are you with a Title IX office or a program addressing sexual assault? Other Setting the Stage: Who? 20% of college students identify as having a disability. Types of disabilities include: • Autoimmune • • • • Learning Disabilities • ADHD • Physical Disabilities • Autism • Intellectual/ Developmental Disabilities • Blind/ Low Vision Disorders Food Allergies Mental Health Conditions Deaf/ Hard of Hearing Setting the Stage: How? Resources Available to SWD • Disability Services • Student Clubs/Organizations Barriers in College for SWD • Attitudinal • Physical • Policy/Procedural Setting the Stage: How (2) Accommodations Available to SWD • Flexibility with deadlines/attendance • Extended time • Testing in reduced distraction environment • Private room • Meal plan adjustments • Emotional support animals/ service animals • Note taker • Captioning • ASL Interpreter Remember: Disability Disclosure is a personal choice. There may be many reasons a student chooses not to disclose their disability in college. From a perception that â€doing it on their own†is better, to the stigma they fear if they tell professors about their accommodation needs, many students will not seek services. Remember: Disability (2) Also, there are many students living with disabilities who do not anticipate needing accommodations. They may not disclose until something happens that impacts their disability. Some students with disabilities don’t need accommodations until experiencing a sexual assault—it is at this point they may require services specific to their disability needs. Remember: Victimization Survivors of sexual assault have options of reporting or support in college, but many don’t report or seek services due to stigma or fear of ostracization. If the perpetrator is a peer, there can be fear of social repercussions and there is often feelings of shame associated with the assault. When Disability and Victimization Intersect Perpetrators Presentation Stigma Connection Access Victimization and Disability: Why Are We Talking About This? Limited research and data available exposes a significant gap in sexual assault prevention and intervention work at colleges and universities. The research we do have is either limited in scope (focusing solely on females), older (2015 and before), or specific to one or two disability focuses. What we do know, however, should concern us. 31.6% females with disabilities compared to 18.4% without report experiencing sexual victimization on campus Victimization and Disability: Why Are We Talking About This? (2) Report by the National Council on Disability identified the following gaps: 1.Colleges lack policies and procedures to ensure disability-related supports readily available to communicate with sexual assault first responders. 2.Prevention and education programs not inclusive of SWD. 3.Title IX websites lack mention of accommodations. 4.Absence of collaboration Consider This: Stigma Students with disabilities that don’t see themselves represented in campus conversations around sexual assault may be embarrassed if they believe their disability will be the topic of conversation after reporting their assault. Stigma or fear of stigma often keeps SWD from seeking accommodations. This is especially so when a traumatic event such as a sexual assault occurs. Consider This: Access Survivors with disabilities may require accessible on- campus reporting protocols and procedures, as well as considerations around accommodations. Students with disabilities may choose not to report or seek help if they can’t easily access the services provided to students without disabilities. Consider This: Inclusion Title IX campaigns and materials, as well as campus awareness around sexual assault, can exclude survivors with disabilities. By not planning for access at all levels, survivors with disabilities get the message that they are not the target audience for prevention, education, or intervention. Consider This: Responsiveness Disability Services is not always connected to students with disabilities, and there could be resources on campus unprepared to work with students with disabilities or understand the accommodations they need. Serving Survivors with Disabilities Accommodations Survivors with disabilities may be receiving accommodations from disability services or they may not even be registered. Don’t assume. Traumatic events may trigger the need for accommodations, including: • Flexibility with attendance and deadlines • Testing accommodations • Dorm room accommodations • Emotional Support Animals Expectation vs. Reality Myth of the “Ideal†survivor or “Typical†survivor How someone responds to trauma is going to be very individualized and very impacted by circumstance, personality, and environment. For survivors with disabilities, who are battling stigmatization and ostracization due to their disability, they may be more aware of needing to “mask†when discussing their assault. Understanding Barriers to Reporting Disability can add an extra layer to the reporting process, and may be abandoned by the survivor for fear of being lost in the mix, retraumatized, or accused of lying. Faculty and Staff Perceptions How do faculty and staff at your institution perceive students with disabilities? Survivors of sexual assault? What policies/procedures or trainings exist currently to assess and educate for biases? What barriers do are the greatest to survivors with disabilities on your campus? Use Chat Pod to Type in Your Responses Answers could include: • Faculty and Staff Perception/ Interaction • Other Students on Campus • Physical accessibility barriers to finding services • Virtual/ printed material accessibility barriers to finding services • Stigma • Mandatory Reporting Removing Barriers: Solutions A SWD discloses a sexual assault to your office. Do you know immediately who to call or how to ask the student about their disability? Do you feel confident in knowing what resources are available? Are there confidential avenues for reporting? What training have you received around serving survivors with disabilities? Confidentiality and Disability Services When serving survivors with disabilities on campus, autonomy, self-determination, and self-identification are values that must be upheld through policy, procedure, and practice. Connecting Campus Resources Working Together Disability Services Title IX Office Student Life Residence Life Building Relationships • Systemically • Holistically and Universally (Not for a specific case, but an ongoing relationship) • Coordinated response (Develop a referral system between the two) Managing Faculty/ Staff Expectations Dispelling the myth of the “double accommodation†Type of training/awareness needed for faculty: • Impact of sexual assault on academics and classroom experience • How sexual assault and disability can prompt accommodation plan • Sensitivity and competency around disability and sexual assault Managing Faculty/ Staff Expectations (2) Types of training for staff (including Title IX investigators/responders): • Disability considerations in interviewing • Accommodations (how to offer and how to provide) Ableism In Action: How to Spot Structural • Physical barriers (steps, no automatic doors, no accessible bathrooms, poor or no signage) • Inaccessible materials (no consideration for visual impairments, learning disabilities, etc.) • Events, marketing excludes people with disabilities Ableism In Action: How to Spot (2) Institutional • Attitudes and behaviors that show people with disabilities unwelcome (either ignoring or hostile) • Focus on financial burden, rather than burden to the SWD Personal • Language • Bias Ableism in Action: How to Correct 1. Identify 2. Consult 3. Plan 4. Correct Prioritizing Accessibility qPrinted materials qPromotional videos qMaps, parking qOffice access qAdvertising accommodations qFirst responder training qTitle IX interview training qTake Back the Night and other campaigns/fundraisers Prioritizing Accessibility (2) When thinking about access, consider: • Type of disability • Needs (large print, plain language, visual, Braille, aides, service animals, interview assistance, interpreters) Extra Credit: Emotional Support Animals What can you do to better serve survivors with disabilities on your campus? Questions Kaitlin Shetler, MSW Senior Program Associate Center on Victimization and Safety Vera Institute of Justice kshetler@vera.org Survey Thank you for attending our webinar! Please take a minute to complete a survey about your experience. Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L5NYZ2D