After protest, petitions, Clemson promises to boost resources for violence survivors

Following a protest and petition to to boost campus resources for survivors of interpersonal violence, Clemson University is promising to expand those services.

An online petition, signed by roughly 2,400 people as of Friday afternoon, calls for the university to hire three additional advocates for sexual assault survivors, training school leadership in trauma-informed care, create a women’s and gender center and more. The petition follows a demonstration on Nov. 15 calling for the same thing.

Interpersonal violence is an umbrella term for rape, stalking, domestic violence and similar crimes, according to the World Health Organization.

“We want it to be inclusive of a lot of things, because it’s not just about sexual assault,” said Clemson student and organizer Linnea Bacon.

Clemson’s office of Counseling and Psychological Services, which provides services to survivors of interpersonal violence, has one psychiatrist and one licensed professional counselor, Clemson spokesman Joe Galbraith said. The school plans to increase services to survivors of interpersonal violence, Galbraith added.

At a university of roughly 25,000 people, the current staffing is “not adequate” for treating every student who has survived interpersonal violence, said Alden Parker, a Clemson student who helped organize the petition.

While Galbraith said those with emergency concerns can receive immediate services, getting a more routine appointment can take weeks, Parker said.

Since the petition was circulated and since a demonstration on campus, Clemson has responded by expediting its plan to hire more staff, according to a statement from spokesman Mark Land.

Land defended Clemson’s efforts to provide resources to students. According to the statement: Clemson has 15 total licensed professional counselors and psychologists on staff; all new students are required to complete sexual assault prevention training and the university and city police have a “joint investigative team” trained to handle cases of interpersonal violence.

This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 10:20 AM.