University of Mary Washington hires confidential resource/advocate for violence victims

Erin Hopkins is the newly hired victim’s advocate at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. She provides an additional confidential resource for students who may have experienced sex- or gender-based violence, according to a news release from the college.

Erin Hopkins, who has worked in crisis management and teaching, has only been on the Fredericksburg campus a few weeks. She sees her role as bridging the gap between UMW’s Office of Title IX and the students the office is charged with protecting against sex-based discrimination.

“There are students who need to talk with someone but who are too afraid to go to the Title IX office,” Hopkins was quoted as saying in a news release from the college. “I serve as a confidential advocate to educate students about their options and point them in the right direction for help.”

Funding for the position is part of a $300,000 grant through the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women. UMW was among 45 institutions of higher education—one of only two in Virginia—to receive the funding in 2016 to help victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.

Hopkins’ office is located at the Talley Center for Counseling Services in UMW’s Tyler House. On campus two days a week, she also shares her time off campus at Empowerhouse and the Rappahannock Area Council Against Sexual Assault (RCASA). These are regional agencies that provide confidential domestic/dating violence and sexual assault assistance.

Hopkins will help provide student-focused support groups and services there as an off-campus option. Among them, she will lead a confidential college survivors’ group on Mondays beginning March 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Fredericksburg Baptist Church in conjunction with Empowerhouse.

The three-pronged approach enables a more comprehensive approach to assisting students who have experienced sexual assault and to educating the campus community, according to Britnae Purdy, project coordinator for the Prevention of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Stalking at UMW.

As part of the grant, UMW also plans to create an all-inclusive resource guide in English and Spanish, and will hold full-day training institutes for UMW and community members on best practice responses to sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.

In addition, according to the news release, the University already has:

• Created the Center for Prevention and Education in Fairfax House, which provides the University community collaboration space and educational materials.
• Formed an inter-agency Coordinated Community Response Team that includes members of the Title IX and key UMW offices, regional police and advocacy agencies.
• Expanded training and programming for students and the UMW community on sex and gender-based violence prevention and awareness, with targeted programs on bystander responsibility and issues surrounding sexual assault, dating/domestic violence and stalking.

For more information, UMW gave this link: http://diversity.umw.edu/title-ix/