AU named Daniel Rappaport, AU’s sexual assault prevention coordinator, and Courtney Brooks, coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center, as victim advocates.
Now, Rappaport and Brooks will be available to discuss sexual assault cases in confidentiality and will not be required to report cases to authorities.
Rappaport will also be able to help students decide whether or not to file charges against a perpetrator of sexual assault.
Rappaport said having two victim advocates at AU will allow students to have an additional confidential resource to discuss anything relating to stalking, dating violence or sexual assault.
“That means, if someone was unsure about something that happened to them or something that is happening to them, in terms of dating violence and stalking, they can come to me and we can talk about it without moving anything forward at all,” he said.
AU is held to the 1989 Clery Act, which stipulates that only certain university officials can keep reports of sexual assault confidential. The act requires non-confidential school officials, such as professors and academic advisors, to report any testimonials about sexual assault or threats to local police departments, according to Brooks and Rappaport.
Rappaport said he would be taking on the lead advocate role, while Brooks will be serving as a support advocate.
As lead advocate, Rappaport can help the victim get in contact with Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution Services, assist with filing charges and helping the victim work with off-campus resources and organizations.
Lorraine Carleo, a psychiatric nurse practitioner in the Student Health Center, will be serving as supervisor to Brooks and Rappaport. Carleo will meet with the advocates monthly and on an as-needed basis to review any issues that arise, according to Rappaport.
“It doesn’t mean that when we talk to each other, we’re going to be telling names,” Brooks said. “It’s just a way to kind of take temperature with each other and also to kind of check in [with each other].”
In order for Brooks and Rappaport to be certified as victim advocates, they were required to complete 40 hours of training and 100-200 hours of practice for certification.
The Nov. 1 appointment comes in response to Women’s Initiative’s advocacy for the creation of this position.
Women’s Initiative director Carmen Rios said bringing certified victim advocates to AU had been a goal of the organization since last year as part of its initiative to lower sexual assault rates on campus and raise awareness.
“We worked really hard to push it, basically just advocated for it with the administrators,” Rios said. “We told them that this was something that students wanted and that it’s something that students would widely benefit from across campus.”
Rios said that, despite the fact that AU has other confidential resources on campus, such as the counseling center, the school’s religious leaders and the Student Health Center, there are many benefits to having Brooks and Rappaport as victim advocates.
“[Brooks and Rappaport] are people that can give [victims] a better overall view of everything that’s available to them and help them through the process,” Rios said.
