UW is committed to providing safe, respectful, and inclusive learning and work environments. Employees contribute to this by demonstrating inclusion, intervening in harmful situations, offering support, and speaking up when others experience harm.
Title IX employee reporting categories
Every employee can support someone who has experienced sex- or gender-based violence and harassment by reaching out to the UW violence prevention and response specialists at SafeCampus for support and consultation. Depending on your role–confidential employee, employee providing support, or official required to report–you have different obligations.
Confidential Employees
Confidential campus-based advocates and mental and physical health professionals have professional obligations and commitments to confidentiality. Confidential employees will only share information with express permission or when required by law.
Employees Providing Support
Most employees are encouraged, but not required by policy, to take action and get expert support and options to someone who has disclosed an experience of sex- and gender-based violence and harassment. Employees in this category are encouraged to contact SafeCampus and can choose to remain anonymous and/or not share others’ names to protect an individual’s identity.
Officials Required to Report
Federal Title IX obligations require certain people to take action when they learn about sex- or gender-based violence or harassment. At UW, these specific individuals are called Title IX Officials Required to Report (ORRs). The purpose of this report is not to initiate an investigation but to ensure the person who has experienced violence or harassment is offered supportive measures and is aware of their right to submit a formal complaint. The complete roster of Title IX Officials Required to Report is available.
When an Official Required to Report becomes aware of possible sex- and gender-based violence and harassment, they must:
- Contact SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 or safecampus@uw.edu.
- Inform SafeCampus they are a Title IX Official Required to Report.
- Share all the details they have, including the names of any individuals involved.
FAQs
If someone tells you they have experienced sex- and gender-based violence and harassment, how you respond matters. Learn more about how to respond with care on the Supporting Students & Employees page.
When you contact SafeCampus, they will provide expert consultation regarding the situation. Unless you are a Title IX Official Required to Report you can call SafeCampus anonymously and/or choose not to share the name of the person about whom you are calling. If you have limited information, that’s okay.
Regardless of how much information you share, SafeCampus will:
- Assess for any immediate safety concerns and provide options to address the concerns
- Consult with you on your role and any next steps you need to take
- Discuss options to provide support if the person who experienced unwanted behavior or harm wants to remain anonymous
- Connect the person who experienced unwanted behavior or harm with a confidential advocate. Advocates provide free confidential support, discuss academic or employment concerns, and explain resources and reporting options
- Provide the Know Your Rights and Resources Guide which includes important information and options
- Provide support to you and referrals to additional resources as needed
- Share the information received with the Title IX Coordinator who is responsible for assessing risk to the larger community, coordinating any necessary follow up, and identifying patterns and systemic issues related to Title IX
Anyone who is not an Official Required to Report may contact SafeCampus anonymously if they choose and may also choose to share limited information to protect a student’s or employee’s identity.
A SafeCampus response specialist will advise the Official Required to Report on any immediate next steps, and ensure that the person who has been impacted by the behavior is connected with a confidential advocate. SafeCampus will also provide information about rights and reporting options to the survivor and then provide a summary of what was shared and any immediate follow-up steps with the Office of the Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator will follow up when and if needed.
If the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights were to find a university in violation of Title IX regulations, students could lose access to federal financial aid, researchers could lose federal grant funding, and other federal funds would be at risk.
Federal Title IX regulations require that officials with authority (at UW, Officials Required to Report) inform the University when they become aware of possible sexual misconduct. This requirement is in place to ensure that supportive measures are offered and that individuals are informed of how to submit a formal complaint.
If you have been named as a respondent in a University investigation, you can access help understanding your rights and navigating the process.
- Student Respondents – You may work with Community Standards and Student Conduct respondent resources.
- Employee respondents – Depending on your role, you may request assistance from your Human Resources Consultant, the Secretary of the Faculty, the Office of the Ombud, and/or UW Carelink.
If a formal complaint requesting an investigation is received, you will receive written notification of the allegations and information about the investigation process.
Yes, additional reporting expectations exist depending on the situation.
- Suspected child abuse and neglect. All UW employees have a duty to report suspected child abuse and neglect. The Office of Youth Protection’s policy explains these obligations.
- Clery reporting obligations. Campus Security Authorities, CSAs, are employees whose responsibilities are defined by the Campus Clery Act. Find relevant information on the Bothell CSAs, Seattle CSAs, or Tacoma CSAs webpages. The campus-specific Clery coordinators can also answer additional questions.
UW’s Title IX reporting policy was developed with input from survivors as well as faculty and staff with expertise in trauma and healing related to sex- and gender-based violence and harassment. Survivors, scholars, and practitioners all agree that taking away a survivor’s choice (such as by requiring an investigation or by sharing details about a person’s experience that they do not want shared) can create more trauma and increase the risk of retaliation or additional harm to the survivor.
The University’s policy has been designed to give survivors the lead voice in determining what is right for their own situation while also allowing the University to assess and address violence and harassment in our communities.
Credit: Videos were developed by Jonathan Beck and Kiana Swearingen in the Office of the Title IX Coordinator. The voices actors were Akhila Narayanan, Vincent Milay, and Jeffrey L. Cheatham II.