The Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (SVSH) Prevention Committee aims to foster a safe and inclusive climate at the School of Public Health.
Sponsored by the Assistant Dean for Administration, the committee is made up of students, staff, and faculty representatives that collaborate and engage with individuals from across the school. The committee aims to include as many perspectives and lived experiences as possible when designing and implementing prevention activities.
The PATH to Care Center provides affirming, empowering, and confidential support for survivors and those who have experienced gendered violence, including: sexual harassment, dating and intimate partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sexual exploitation. Confidential advocates bring a non-judgmental, caring approach to exploring all options, rights, and resources. Services are provided at free-of-charge. They can connect people seeking assistance to resources and can accompany them to appointments, including medical, legal, administrative, and academic appointments. Care Line for 24/7 urgent support: 510-643-2005
The Ombuds Office can be your first step, your last resort, or anything in between. If you wish assistance sorting through a campus-related conflict or concern, please contact us. The Ombudsperson will listen to your concerns, serve as a sounding board, discuss your options with you, and help you get a new perspective and determine the next steps to take. The office is strictly confidential and no one will know you have spoken with us unless you wish them to. The only exception to this confidentiality is where there appears to be imminent risk of serious harm or danger. For appointments call (510) 642-5754.
The Staff Ombuds Office serves all Staff, Non-Senate Academics, as well as Faculty who perform management functions. Services include individual assistance, mediation, training, group work, systemic change, and outreach.
For more information or to make an initial appointment, please call (510) 642-7823 (2-STAF).
The University of California, Berkeley currently has 16 different bargaining units on campus. Each bargaining unit has a separate contract with a union that represents all employees covered under that unit. Contact your union to determine what support or representation they provide their members related to experiences of harm, discrimination, harassment, or assault.
BAWAR is Alameda County’s community rape crisis center offering advocacy and counseling to folks in Alameda County who have experienced sexual violence. BAWAR has a 24/7 crisis line in both English and Spanish. 24/7 Crisis Hotline: 510-845-7273.
FVLC provides survivor-centered legal advocacy and assistance for individuals who have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual assault. They have a 24/7 crisis line for people living in Alameda County. 24/7 Crisis Hotline: 1-800-947-831 (for people living in Alameda County, CA).
The Online Hotline works like other instant messaging and online chat systems, but with enhanced security measures. Callers can chat with a trained RAINN support specialist and chat live by typing messages back and forth. The service is completely anonymous and confidential.
For additional community resources please refer to the PATH to Care Center.
The Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) is responsible for ensuring the University provides an environment for faculty, staff, and students that is free from discrimination, harassment, and sexual violence. OPHD takes reports alleging discrimination and harassment on the basis of categories including race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation/identity, including allegations of sexual harassment and sexual violence.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
The Department of Fair Employment and Housing is the state agency charged with enforcing California’s civil rights laws. The mission of the DFEH is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations and from hate violence and human trafficking.
During the 2019 Spring semester, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health (BPH) partnered with the PATH to Care Center to pilot a new resource, Preventing Sexual Harassment in your Academic Department: A Toolkit. The toolkit was designed to help decision-makers in academic units create and implement a plan to prevent sexual harassment within their community.
The pilot of the Toolkit for Prevention Sexual Harassment, described above, was utilized to develop a set of recommendations to further the School’s sexual harassment prevention efforts. The workgroup report describes seven high-level recommendations the working group made to the BPH leadership as a result of this work.
The BPH SVSH Prevention Committee currently conducts several SVSH-related training for BPH. Committee members who conduct these trainings participate in a train-the-trainer workshop hosted by the PATH to Care Center every summer. If your team, department, or unit is interested in receiving an in-person training, please contact sph_svshprevention@berkeley.edu.
The committee is building out prevention activities to address the results of the BPH MyVoice Report, from the campus-wide MyVoice Survey conducted by PATH to Care in 2018. These results will also be used as baseline data to evaluate our efforts.
The SVSH Prevention Committee led the development of the BPH Principles of Community Statement over a two-year period. This statement was created in partnership with the BPH community through several focus groups and a school-wide survey. This statement was adopted by BPH in April 2021 and calls on every member of our school to acknowledge, value, and practice the principles.
The committee presented its work from the Spring 2019 SVSH Working Group, which piloted PATH to Care’s toolkit to prevent SVSH in academic departments, in partnership with PATH to Care at the National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence in Spring 2021.
The committee leads school-wide SVSH Awareness campaigns to increase awareness, promote prevention, and share resources for survivors. Example include January’s Stalking Awareness Month and April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Information and resources are shared directly to the BPH community and through the BPH Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts.
The BPH SVSH Prevention Committee committee charter outlines the committee’s purpose, role, and expectations. Please note, this charter may be updated as needed each year.
The BPH SVSH Prevention Committee meets once a month during the academic year to work on a variety of projects described in the Committee Activities section. If you are a member of the BPH community and would like to get involved, please email sph_svshprevention@berkeley.edu.
| Name | Unit | BPH Representation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damla Aydin | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Co-Chair |
| Jessica Ross | Center of Excellence in Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health | Staff | Co-Chair |
| Sabrina Boyce | Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health Program | Faculty | Co-Chair |
| Alyssa Moreno | Health & Social Behavior Program | Student-MPH | Member (new) |
| Andrea Flores Umanzor | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Christian Lizaso | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Emma Jackson | Boyce Research Group | Staff | Member (new) |
| Esmeralda Navarro | Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health Program | Student-MPH | Member (new) |
| Julianna Goldfarb | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Lauren Krupa | Divisions of Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Staff | Member (returning) |
| Liam Chavez | Labor Occupational Health Program | Staff | Member (returning) |
| Megan Olivera | RISE: Berkeley Public Health Careers & Leadership Office | Staff | Member (returning) |
| Niharika Kaushik | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Paula Marquez | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Pendse Apurva | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Rachel Hong | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Rae Lundberg | Facilities & Operations | Staff | Member (new) |
| Rane Dragovich | Infectious Diseases & Vaccinology Program | Student-MPH | Member (new) |
| Rupesh Patel | Interdisciplinary MPH Program | Student-MPH | Member (new) |
| Tang Dudu | Undergraduate Program | Student-UG | Member (new) |
| Seana Van Buren | Dean's Office | Staff - Leadership | Sponsor |