Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Clery Act
On October 20, 2014, the United States Department of Education published the final regulations for the Violence Against Women Act (better known as VAWA) and the amendments to the Clery Act. The regulations expand rights afforded to campus survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.
Below are the critical elements of the regulations:
- Law enforcement relationships and jurisdiction: Our security personnel do not have the power of arrest. For this reason, in the event of any type of alleged criminal offense, we have a working relationship in each jurisdiction our campuses are geographically located. At Elkins Park Campus, the Cheltenham Police Department and at The Eye Institute and our satellite locations, it is the Philadelphia Police Department. In case of emergencies, both Police Agencies can be reached by dialing 911.
- Offenses: Colleges and universities are now obligated to include in their Annual Security Report the following offenses:
- Dating Violence
- Domestic Violence
- Sexual Assault
- Stalking
- All new offenses are expanded upon in the “definitions and crimes reportable under Clery” section of this website
- Procedures for institutional disciplinary actions in cases of alleged dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
- Confidentiality: An institution must address how it completes publicly available record keeping for the purposes of Clery Act reporting while not including identifying information about the victim and while maintaining confidentiality of any accommodations or protective measures given to the victim.
- Statistics: Expanding the types of crimes reported under Clery to include domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking as stated above.
- Programs, procedures and responsibility under Title IX regarding sexual harassment, sexual violence and sexual discrimination.