Privacy and Confidentiality
Statement Regarding Privacy
The College is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals involved in a report of sexual assault and harassment. In any report under this policy, every effort will be made to protect the privacy interests of all individuals involved in a manner consistent with the need for a thorough review of the allegation.
The privacy of the parties will be respected and safeguarded at all times. All College employees who are involved in the College’s Title IX response, including Title IX Hearing Panel members, receive specific training and guidance about safeguarding private information. Privacy and confidentiality have distinct meanings under this policy.
Privacy
Privacy generally means that information related to a report of misconduct will only be shared with a limited circle of individuals. The use of this information is limited to those College employees who "need to know" in order to assist in the active review, investigation, or resolution of the report. While not bound by confidentiality, these individuals will be discreet and respect the privacy of all individuals involved in the process.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality means that information about sexual assault or harassment shared by a student cannot be revealed to any other individual without express permission of the reporting student, except where there is immediate and serious concern about the student’s safety or that of others in the community.
If you want to make a confidential report of sexual misconduct, note the following:
- Counseling Service and Health and Wellness Center staff will treat your report in a completely confidential manner, except where there is immediate and serious concern about your safety or that of others.
- Counseling Service and Health and Wellness Center staff will only report to the College that an incident of sexual misconduct has occurred, but without any personally identifying information, except if there is immediate and serious concern about your safety or that of others.
- Those considered Responsible Employees are required to report incidents of sexual assault or harassment to the Title IX Coordinator.
Legal Issues
You are not required to report a sexual assault. If you do talk to the police and/or Campus Safety, they may be able to take steps to protect others from experiencing sexual assault. In addition, the police can inform you of your legal rights and options should you decide to prosecute. The College is strongly committed to providing medical and emotional support to victims and survivors of sexual assault regardless of whether they decide to take legal action.
Bryn Mawr College Campus Safety can provide transportation to the Health and Wellness Center or to Bryn Mawr Hospital. You may wish to notify Campus Safety that a sexual assault has occurred. If you choose to make a report, the Department and you will then determine whether the assistance and/or intervention of the police is necessary to protect other members of the community and/or to arrest the assailant. Campus Safety will inform the Title IX Coordinator that an assault has been reported. If it is necessary to alert the community at large that an assault has been reported, the Department of Campus Safety, the Title IX Coordinator and the Dean’s Office will make every effort to protect your privacy.
Lower Merion Township Police can provide transportation to Bryn Mawr Hospital and emergency medical care if necessary. If you do decide to report the assault to the police, the College will provide a support person if you would like help through the process.
Who Can I Talk to Confidentially?
Students can confidentially tell certain College employees about incidents of sexual misconduct, including Title IX sexual harassment and other gender-based misconduct. These employees include the College Chaplain, medical service practitioners in the Health and Wellness Center, and mental health counseling providers employed by the College. These spiritual, counseling, and medical staff will only report to the College that an incident of sexual misconduct has occurred if they believe there is a health or safety emergency, either for the reporter or a third party. Because they do not report, except under the above-referenced circumstances, no investigation can take place, unless the reporter gives permission for confidentiality to be lifted.
Every other College employee – including non-medical, administrative staff in the Health and Wellness Center – is required to report information about sexual misconduct to the College’s Title IX Coordinator. If one of these employees learns of or witnesses misconduct, they are required to report the incident to the Title IX Office, including personally identifying information. In this case, privacy will be respected to the greatest extent possible, but the report is not confidential.
Options for Who to Tell and How to Proceed
Contact any College employee, who will report it to the College’s Title IX Coordinator.
However, be aware that if you contact the Chaplain, medical service practitioners in the Health and Wellness Center, or mental health counseling providers employed by the College, you need explicitly to ask them to make a report on your behalf to the College's Title IX Coordinator. All other College employees are required to make such a report, so while it is a good idea to make your wishes clear, you do not have to tell them this.
At any time, you can use the Sexual Misconduct Reporting Form to report misconduct.
Contact the Chaplain, a medical practitioner at the Health and Wellness Center, or a mental-health counseling provider employed by the College. These particular College employees must keep your information confidential unless you give them permission not to. You may also file a report anonymously using the online Sexual Misconduct Reporting Form. Anonymous reports are officially documented by the College but cannot be investigated fully.
You may do this, however, the College may be limited in the scope of the investigation and in the actions it is able to take, depending on what information is available to the Title IX Coordinator and investigator(s). For a formal report to be made and an investigation to be completed, detailed information about the alleged misconduct must be made available to College employees who are responsible for carrying out that work.
At any time, you can use the Sexual Misconduct Reporting Form to report misconduct.