At Gonzaga, sexual misconduct is a term broadly used to describe many behaviors including sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation, sexual coercion,   and/or discrimination and harassment based on sex or gender.  These behaviors run contrary to Gonzaga’s Mission, values and Ethos Statement. In addition to being prohibited by University policy, sexual misconduct is also prohibited by a federal law known as Title IX. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in any of its programs and nondiscrimination is required by Title IX.

If you have experienced any of these things, we want to help.  There are various people and services at Gonzaga and beyond that are available to support you.  There are many ways that you can get help after experiencing sexual misconduct.  Below is a list of confidential and non-confidential resources on campus.  Keep in mind that no matter who you talk to, we want to provide support and resources to help you heal.  You have lots of options, so let’s talk about the difference between confidential and non-confidential options. Please note that any options below that have two stars (**) after them are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Confidential Options

If you want to remain confidential and would prefer that no information be shared with any other departments in the University, there are a few places you can go:

Non-Confidential Options

If you choose to talk with any of the non-confidential options below, a professional staff member will work with you to get support and resources, while also creating a report of what you shared about the incident. This report is shared with a trained professional whose responsibility it is to look into what happen and decide what follow up steps may need to be taken.

What Happens if the University has a Report of  Sexual Misconduct?

When someone shares an allegation of sexual misconduct to a non-confidential resource or support resource, as listed above, a report is made.  We realize the idea of a report sounds scary. Please know that reports are kept private and only shared with a very small number of professional staff who have a direct role in working with the student or on the case. 

Once the University receives a report, the first priority is making sure the student involved feels safe and is provided important resources such as counseling, medical attention to attend to health care needs and/or preserve evidence, and the option to file a report with law enforcement.  Please see the resources and support section of this website for more information on the many resources available to help students. 

After immediate needs have been attended to, a trained staff member will then look at what follow up actions may be appropriate.  These follow up actions can include things like talking to others who may have more information, looking for patterns of behavior on the part of the accused, and considering the ongoing safety of those in our community.  If any follow up actions need to be taken, the professional staff member working on the case will provide updates about next steps to the person who reported the incident (also referred to as the reporting party) and get insights about what (s)he would like to see happen next. 
In most cases, the University is going to try to honor the wishes of the person who reported the incident.  Please know that in some cases, the University may need to act immediately if there is a safety risk to the community.  Should this happen, we will do everything we can to communicate with you about what to expect.

Please click on the tabs on the left for more information about support resources, reporting, and more.