Bystander Education, Prevention & Training Programs

File a Title IX Report

Training on effective bystander intervention techniques is offered by various offices on campus. For more information, contact the Dean of Students Office (CAS and SBS) at 617-573-8239 or via email, the Dean of Students Office (Law) at 617-573-8157 or via email, or the Human Resources Office at 617-573-8415 or via email.

Suffolk Education Programs

Several University offices and student organizations offer workshops and training opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to foster and promote individual and collective action to reduce sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence. Programs include bystander intervention, education about the role of alcohol and drugs in consent and sexual assault, workshops for incoming students and their parents, education for employees and the dissemination of written materials. Contact the following offices for more information about specific programs:

Counseling, Health & Wellness Center
5th floor, 73 Tremont Street
Counseling: 617-5738226
Health and Wellness: 617-573-8260

Student Affairs/Dean of Students (CAS and SBS Students)
12th floor, 73 Tremont Street
617-573-8239

Dean of Students Office (Law Students)
4th floor, 120 Tremont Street
617-573-8157 or via email.

Residence Life and Housing
7th floor, 73 Tremont Street
617-305-2500

Office of Title IX
13th floor, 73 Tremont Street
617-573-8027

Human Resources
5th floor, 73 Tremont Street
617-573-8415

Suffolk University Police Department
8 Ashburton Place
Non-emergency lines: 617-573-8113 or 617-573-8333

Peer Education

Student peer educators, the SUPERs, offer informational workshops, panel discussions, info sessions, and tables that present information on alcohol and drugs' effect on sexual misconduct, safer sex, relationship violence, and sexually transmitted infections

A new student organization, Suffolk University Students Helping Institute Equal Learning and Defense (SHIELD) has just been formed to help educate students on sexual assault prevention.

Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Program
Suffolk University’s Rape Aggression Defense program provides realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for female students and employees. It is a comprehensive, female-only course that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction, and risk avoidance, then progresses to the basics of hands-on self-defense training. It is not a martial arts program.

Suffolk’s RAD courses are taught by nationally certified instructors and provide each student with a workbook/reference manual. The SUPD employs certified members on campus who teach a 12-hour RAD training session once a semester. Suffolk is proud to offer the RAD program free of charge to all members of our community.

For further information, contact the Suffolk University Police Department at 617-573-8333.

Training

Training is held annually for students, employees, and investigators of sexual misconduct reports and complaints that include the following topics: University policies and procedures for responding to sexual misconduct reports and complaints, the impact of sexual misconduct on survivors, the dynamics of sexual and relationship violence, interviewing techniques, and decision-making.

Training is held for many campus groups--including students, student employees/resident assistants, student leaders, student athletes, faculty, and staff--on sexual violence prevention, reporting expectations, and response protocols.

Training on sexual violence prevention, reporting expectations, and response protocols is conducted for all new students and employees through orientation programs.

New students must complete the online tool Haven, which educates students on sexual assault and other sexual misconduct. Haven provides students with specific definitions pertaining to sexual assault. The program addresses important distinctions between making decisions when consent is present and when consent is absent or difficult to identify. The program relies on current US Department of Justice statistics to support the messages it delivers, helping to raise awareness of the prevalence of this issue on college campuses. Haven addresses many of the assumptions and stereotypes associated with sexual assault, rape, stalking, and harassment and refutes these common misconceptions with facts and statistics.

Policies

Policies are in place and are shared with students and employees to inform them of prohibited conduct, educational programs to help prevent sexual misconduct, and reporting and support resources for survivors.