The Weekly Snapshot

Your source for the latest tips, information, and current campus safety resources from the National Center.

Final VAWA Amendments to Clery Act Published

On Monday, October 20th, the US Department of Education (ED) released the final regulations outlining the new changes to the Clery Act by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA). The final regulations officially go into effect July 1, 2015, although ED already stated that institutions of higher education (IHEs) are expected to make a "good faith effort" to comply with the new regulations until that time.

The new regulations are the result of several months of negotiated rule making. Six meeting sessions were held followed by a 30-day public comment period before a final document was shared with the Office of Management and Budget for approval.

Read and download the full PDF document here. To read a summary of the final regulations, please read this brief article provided by The Clery Center.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

One in four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), defines domestic violence as "a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person."

Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation or religion and does not only affect those who are abused, but has a significant effect on family members and friends, co-workers, witnesses, and their communities.

To help create and sustain a safe and healthy environment for students, faculty, staff and other community members, campus officials should continually promote domestic violence awareness and prevention strategies. Please visit our website for several resources that include information, tips, guides, publications and other materials you can utilize and promote at your institution.

Campus Public Safety Needs Survey

Please help us to identify and gauge your resource and training & technical assistance needs by completing this one-page, online survey. Your responses will assist us in determining where to direct our efforts and how we can best serve the campus public safety community.

Professional Development Opportunities

National Center Director Kim Vansell is one of this year's breakout session speakers at the Heartland Campus Safety Summit. She will be presenting with Amy Kiger, Director, Violence/Substance Abuse Prevention Center, University of Central Missouri in a session entitled, "If You Build It, They Will Come:Law Enforcement, Campuses and Communities Collaborating to Improve the Response to Students Impacted by Gender and Sexual Violence." In this session, participants will look at the response process from the eyes of a person in crisis. We'll explore questions such as: What can we do to improve the process? How can we make this intimidating process more understandable and user-friendly for those in need? How do we know how we're doing? Participants will also learn ideas for collaborating with campus and local law enforcement and community service providers to coordinate and evaluate a coordinated community response to gender and sexual violence.

Title: Heartland Campus Safety Summit

Dates: November 13, 2014

(Pre-Summit Workshop, November 12, 2014)

Location: Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

Fee: Registration Fee

Information and Registration

Title: Behavioral Threat Assessment Summit

Host: IEMA

Dates: November 5, 2014 (Registration Deadline October 24, 2014)

Location: Addison, IL

Fee: Free

Information and Registration

Title: Implementation of the Violence Against Women Act Amendments to the Clery Act

Host: The Clery Center

Dates: November 10, 2014, 2:30 PM EST

Location: Online Webinar

Fee: Free

Information and Registration

This project was supported by Grant No. 2013-MU-BX-K011 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice.