The Office of Advocacy and Prevention is dedicated to fostering a campus community based on respect, healthy relationships, and nonviolence. We provide confidential support and assistance within the Eckerd community to survivors of power-based interpersonal violence, the people in their lives or other impacted members of the community, and those looking for resources to support others. Additionally, we facilitate campus-wide advocacy and training efforts and coordinate violence prevention initiatives.
Power-based interpersonal violence impacts everyone – every gender, identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, religion, or background. The office strives to be inclusive and responsive to the unique experiences of each individual.
What is power-based interpersonal violence?
Power-based interpersonal violence includes any form of violence or abuse that uses power, control, intimidation, coercion, etc. to cause harm to another person. This includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, relationship violence, and stalking. These forms of violence can occur between acquaintances, in relationships, and/or between strangers. Power-based interpersonal violence impacts all of us regardless of our ethnicity, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, or gender.
What are advocacy services?
We are here to listen to and support anyone in the Eckerd community who has been impacted by power-based interpersonal violence.
Advocacy services are free, confidential and trauma-informed. Eckerd’s advocate will listen non-judgmentally, help process experiences, provide information about and connections to resources on and off campus, and support you in making the choices that feel right to you. The advocate is also available to accompany you to meetings with on-campus services and some off-campus services.
We can help you access medical care, discuss your reporting options, explore counseling opportunities, and connect you with other support services. We can also assist you with filing a report with Campus Safety or community law enforcement. The Office of Advocacy and Prevention is a great place to start the conversation and explore your options in a confidential and supportive space.
Contact advocacy@eckerd.edu or 727.864.8907 to schedule a meeting.
How can students and employees be part of the solution?
We’re glad you asked! Ending power-based violence is a community effort, and we all play a role in creating a safer, more supportive campus community. The Office of Advocacy and Prevention is always developing exciting prevention, awareness, and outreach activities. We can work with you to schedule a prevention workshop, host a discussion group, incorporate topics around power-based violence into class material, or complete an academic project on power-based interpersonal violence. Consult us on creating more supportive spaces and communities, preventing violence, promoting consent culture, or responding to disclosures of abuse or violence.
You can use your voice to transform our campus community. We would love to work with you and hear your ideas!
Schedule a training or group discussion: advocacy@eckerd.edu
Contact Us
advocacy-prevention@eckerd.edu
727.864.8989
Community Healing Collaborative
This calendar of healing-centered offerings is a collaborative effort across offices and student organizations.
Additional Support
Our office coordinates Eckerd’s alcohol and drug education and access to support. Additional resources on alcohol and drug use.
Connect with an advocate
Advocacy services are available to students, faculty, and staff. The confidential advocate will meet with anyone who would like support, has questions about services and resources available through Eckerd or in their local community, needs assistance accessing services, is engaging in a Title IX process, or would like to discuss anything related to interpersonal power-based violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, harassment, etc. The advocate is also available if you are incorporating any of these topics into course material or class projects.
Prevention
Ultimately our goal is to create a culture and community where any form of abuse is not tolerated, everyone is respected, consent is the expectation, and sexual and intimate partner violence no longer occur.
To that end, the Office of Advocacy and Prevention offers workshops for classes and student groups on a wide variety of topics, including the following:
- Bystander Intervention, proactive community support, and safely intervening in problematic behaviors
- Consent
- Relationships
- Trauma, trauma-informed care, and trauma-informed activism
- Responding to disclosure of abuse or assault and how to support a friend
- Dynamics of sexual assault and intimate partner violence
Please contact advocacy@eckerd.edu to schedule a workshop or discuss tailoring something to your group’s needs.
Harm starts not with an act of violence, but with harmful attitudes and beliefs. Preventing violence and abuse means we start at the root causes, examining and disrupting problematic attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. We encourage everyone to engage in introspection and conversations about preventing violence and consider how we can change systems, policies, and structures to reinforce Eckerd’s values of healthy relationships, consent, respect, and the absence of violence.
The office is here to engage in and facilitate these conversations.
For comprehensive information about your rights and responsibilities, Eckerd policies, and reporting options under Title IX, please visit our Title IX website.
Understanding confidentiality
What is the difference between confidential and private campus resources?
Confidential campus resources are not required to report individual incidents of power-based violence to the College unless a survivor requests that they do so. Employees in this role include the coordinator of advocacy services, licensed counselors, licensed health care providers, and clergy. Students can seek services from any of these providers without formally making a report to the College. If you have been victimized by power-based violence and you are not sure what to do or where to report, you may contact any of the confidential campus resources to discuss your options in a safe, supportive, and confidential environment.
On-campus confidential resources
- Office of Advocacy and Prevention
- Counseling and Health Services
- Religious Life
Off-campus confidential resources in the community
- CASA
- Suncoast Sexual Assault Services (24-hours)
Private resources include staff members who are required to report incidents of power-based violence to the Eckerd College Title IX Coordinator. These campus resources can help you access support services and guide you through the reporting process when you are ready to report. Although these campus resources are required to report to the Title IX Coordinator, the Title IX Coordinator will make every effort to maintain your privacy and follow the wishes of the survivor. These resources are private, meaning that the staff will only share your information with other staff members who need to know in order to help you. For more information about privacy and confidentiality, see the Title IX website.
On-campus private resources
Exceptions to confidentiality: In some cases, confidentiality cannot be promised. For instance, if the survivor of power-based violence is a minor (under the age of 18), the law requires that the professional who receives the report notify the Florida Department of Children and Families and law enforcement about the incident. There is also a legal exception to confidentiality if a survivor presents a danger to self or others. In this case, the professional provider will take steps to ensure the safety of the survivor and the community.
