Protecting Students: Abuse Prevention in Educational Institutions

Part I. 45 Minutes | Part II. 45 Minutes 

Part I. Campus Accountability: Using Data to Empower Sexual Assault Survivors - Kenyora Parham, MSW, End Rape on Campus
More than 1 in 5 women and 1 in 4 trans or gender non-conforming students are sexually assaulted during their college experience. These rates are even higher for students of color, LGBTQIA+ students and students with disabilities. Up to this point, information on campus sexual assault statistics, how to report, and survivor support resources has been scattered across federal databases and university websites, making it difficult for students to know what resources are available to them and hold their campus leadership accountable. In 2023, End Rape On Campus launched the Campus Accountability Map & Tool (CAMT) — a first-of-its-kind interactive online tool that allows students to easily access and compare sexual assault statistics, prevention efforts, and survivor support resources between more than 1,000 colleges and universities.

Part II. Empowering School Nurses: Enhancing Child Trafficking Awareness and Preparedness in American Public Schools – Jessica Peck, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CNL, FAANP, FAAN, Louise Herrington School Nursing, Baylor University
Child trafficking poses a momentous public health threat to students in schools. Although school nurses are exceptionally positioned to identify and respond to trafficking, most lack training and resources in this critical area. This project aimed to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention on school nurse preparedness and practices related to child trafficking in an Oklahoma public school district. The project involved Unbound Now's nationally accredited training program for school nurses, implementation of the Fuentes et al.’s (2022) Toolkit for Building a Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol (HTSSP) funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and facilitation of a roundtable discussion to initiate community collaboration. The results of the pre-training Fraley & Aronowitz (2021) School Nurses' Awareness and Perceptions Survey (SNAPS) illuminated variations in school nurses' knowledge and awareness of child trafficking, demonstrating the need for continued training. Post-training evaluations exhibited highly positive feedback, suggesting its effectiveness in meeting the training's objectives. Following the community stakeholder roundtable, the lead school nurse employed the HTSSP toolkit and directed efforts in successfully constructing and implementing a district wide policy of procedures to respond to suspected cases of human trafficking. This project serves as a foundation for future initiatives to improve students' safety and well-being.

This session was orginally recorded at IVAT's 29th Annual San Diego Summit.