Reporting Procedures

PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING INCIDENTS OF SEX/GENDER DISCRIMINATION OR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

A. Options for Reporting to Rhodes Under This Policy. Anyone can report an incident of sex/gender discrimination or sexual misconduct to Rhodes (a “Report”). A Report can be made by any individual who is a victim or survivor of sex/gender discrimination or sexual misconduct, who has been affected by sex/gender discrimination or sexual misconduct, or who has knowledge of sex/gender discrimination or sexual misconduct happening to or affecting someone else. A Report may be made anonymously (see Section X). The College strongly encourages all individuals to report incidents of sexual misconduct and sex/gender discrimination even if the individual does not intend to pursue a Claim. No person should assume that an incident has already been reported by someone else or that the College already knows about a particular situation.

Rhodes will investigate all Reports and may implement remedial steps as needed, but that does not mean every Report will become a Claim or that the College will pursue a formal resolution.

In order to make a Report to Rhodes, a reporting individual may do one or more of the following:

1. Report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator via email to TitleIX@rhodes.edu, by calling 901-843-3354, or by submitting an online Report form available on Rhodes Express, at http://sites.Rhodes.edu/TitleNine, or http://bit.ly/rhodestixreport. Reporters are encouraged, but not required, to direct their Reports to the Title IX Coordinator.

Notifying the Title IX Coordinator of any incident of alleged Sex/Gender Discrimination or Sexual Misconduct will trigger an investigation into the alleged incident.

2. Report the incident to any Resident Assistant, Peer Advocate, faculty or staff member. However, the Counseling Center and Health Services staff are considered “confidential resources” staff.

It is important to know that, with the exception of the “confidential resources” staff listed below in Section VIII.B., all Rhodes faculty and staff are Mandatory Reporters and are required by the College to report any knowledge they receive of possible violations of this policy to the Title IX Coordinator. Mandatory Reporters must relay all known information about any reported policy violation, including but not limited to: the names of involved individuals, the nature of the incident, and the time and location of the incident. (See Section X for information about confidential and anonymous reporting.)

All Resident Assistants and members of the Peer Advocate Center are also Mandatory Reporters and are required to report any knowledge of possible violations of the policy to the Title IX Coordinator. No other students are obligated to report knowledge they may have of sexual misconduct, including student employees of Rhodes who are considered students and not staff for purposes of this policy and are not Mandatory Reporters.

Once the Title IX Coordinator learns of any incident of alleged sex/gender discrimination or sexual misconduct from a Mandatory Reporter, they will initiate an investigation into the alleged incident. Following an investigation, the Title IX Coordinator has authority to resolve a Report, including the implementation of any remedial measures, and close the case.

3. After making a Report, an individual may choose to end involvement in the process, may choose to be involved or not be involved in the College’s investigation and any related proceedings, or may choose to file or request a formal Claim and pursue Formal Resolution or, if applicable, an Informal Resolution Conference involving the Respondent.

B. Options Utilizing Confidential Resources. Rather than making a Report, individuals can confidentially discuss incidents of sex/gender discrimination and sexual misconduct with one of the following College “confidential resources” staff:

  • Any member of the Student Health Services staff located at the Moore-Moore Student Health Center - (901) 843-3895
  • Student Counseling Center staff - Moore-Moore Student Health Center - (901) 843-3128
  • Rhodes Chaplain- Burrow Hall, Room 102- (901) 843-3822

Disclosures made to these confidential resources will be held in strict confidence, and will not constitute a Report to Rhodes under this policy. These confidential resources may assist individuals with reporting incidents or filing Claims if, and only if, they are requested to do so by the individual who has reported the sexual misconduct.

Specific and personally identifiable information given to one of these confidential resources will not be disclosed to the Title IX Coordinator without consent. However, in order to assist the College in collecting data and identifying patterns or systemic problems related to sexual violence on and off campus, the “confidential resources” staff will convey general information about the incident (i.e. nature, time and location of incident) to the Title IX Coordinator. In such cases, the College will protect confidentiality and avoid disclosing personally identifiable information about individuals involved in the incident.

See Section X regarding making confidential and anonymous Reports to Rhodes.

C. Options for Notifying Off-Campus Law Enforcement Authorities. Individuals can notify off-campus law enforcement authorities about any incident of alleged sex/gender discrimination and sexual misconduct, including by dialing (911), calling the Memphis Police Department Sex Crimes Squad at (901) 636-3330, and/or calling the Shelby County Rape Crisis Center at (901) 222-4350. Individuals can also contact other law enforcement agencies, depending on the location of the incident. Notifying off-campus law enforcement authorities will not constitute a Report to Rhodes under this policy, but it may or may not result in such authorities reporting relevant information back to Rhodes which Rhodes will investigate.

Individuals can request assistance from Rhodes faculty and staff in notifying appropriate law enforcement authorities, which the College will provide. Requesting such assistance from a Mandatory Reporter will constitute a Report as described above.

D. Option to Not Report. Individuals can choose not to notify Rhodes or any law enforcement authorities about an alleged incident of sex/gender discrimination or sexual misconduct.