Personal Empowerment Through Self Awareness: Help make Vanderbilt a safer place
Colleagues,
Congratulations to the nearly 200 staff and faculty who have already completed Vanderbilt University’s Personal Empowerment Through Self Awareness (VU PETSA) module on OAK! Thank you for taking the time to become more knowledgeable about power-based personal violence.
We are happy to report that over 86% of first year and transfer students have completed the VU PETSA module with a score of 100% on the short quiz. Since its launch a few weeks ago, the new VU PETSA website has had almost 800 visitors from 43 states and 9 foreign countries.
As student affairs professionals, we each have a responsibility to know exactly how to support students who have experienced personal violence. On a national average, the first six weeks of the academic year reflect the highest incidence for power-based personal violence on university campuses. As you know the students are arriving this weekend and we are strongly encouraging all staff to get acquainted with VU PETSA. It is a resource for you to build your knowledge about power-based personal violence (PBPV).
Why is it important for all DOS Staff to be knowledgeable about PBPV?
National averages suggest that one in four college women will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate – and ninety percent of sexual assaults are committed by someone the survivor knows. Women are disproportionately affected, but power-based personal violence is not just a women’s issue. Researchers estimate that between 3% and 5% of males have been sexually assaulted before graduating high school. In short, students are arriving on campus with needs, and it is everyone’s job to connect them to resources.
What can you do to make Vanderbilt a safer place?
We are all advocates for the safety and wellness of our students – and rely on your offices’ ability to connect students with appropriate resources to further foster their education and development.
If a student confides in you about an experience of personal violence, believe them.
Visit the new VU PETSA website, and get to know what resources are available.
Take the online PETSA module through OAK, and encourage the students who work with your office to do so as well. Anyone with a VU ID can self-enroll (click through for self-enroll instructions).
Schedule a debriefing conversation with your own office, about the topics in the PETSA module. Members of the Green Dots Committee can help facilitate this conversation – contact Wanda Swan or Cara Tuttle Bell for more information.
Take part in an upcoming Green Dots workshop, or recruit student leaders to take part. A green dot symbolizes a single moment in time that can be used to drastically reduce perpetration of violence or to support victims of violence.
Thank you,
Sandy Stahl
Associate Dean