An amended Mississippi bill aims to provide legal protection for individuals who report sexual abuse on behalf of others, even in cases where they may be seeking medical assistance for themselves or someone else.
House Bill 861 will provide immunity to people who report sexual abuse on behalf of others. This bill will stop people from being issued a citation if the person reporting is asking for emergency medical assistance, assistance from a medical provider, and “provided a full name to be identified and thereafter cooperated with medical providers or law enforcement officers, including furnishing any requested information, unless the person lacked capacity to cooperate.”
Therapist Ashton Thompson with the Shafer Center for Crisis Intervention in Hattiesburg explained why she thinks this bill could benefit our community.
“I think it could make people more comfortable with talking about things that they’ve heard or things that they’ve seen and make them feel like they could tell people or tell authorities about information they know without the possibility of getting in trouble,” Ashton said.
She also explained what the Shafer Center does and how it can help students, faculty, and the greater Hattiesburg area.
“The Shafer Center provides services to survivors of sexual abuse at any point along in their journey,” she said.”
The Shafer Center offers support groups for sexual assault victims and to those who have lost someone to homicide.
The Shafer Center of Crisis Intervention is one of the resources available to Hattiesburg and Gulf Park students, faculty, and staff. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, there is the Gulf Coast Women’s Center for Nonviolence, Student Counseling Services, Title IX, and the USM University Police Department. DAFS, a domestic abuse family shelter, is a temporary shelter for victims of domestic abuse. It is available in many counties, including Forest County. These are places to go for help, and all these resources and someone to talk to are available through the Title IX office or by going directly to their websites.
Cristin Reynolds, the Title IX Coordinator for USM, explained how Title IX supports students who come to talk to her for help.
“Coming to talk with me in my office does not start an investigation; it starts a conversation,” she said. “Our main goal when we first get somebody in front of us is to make sure they know what their rights are under Title IX, the options they have to file.”
Reynolds also explained how there are informal resolutions for people who don’t want a policy violation or sanction:
“You’re looking at how we are going to exist on campus together,” she said.
The formal option is a full investigation. Reynolds also explained what comes after an investigation if a policy violation is found and sanctions are handed out.
“If there is found to be a policy violation, sanctions are handed out, and we do that with the Dean of Students office, if it’s a student we consult with them on appropriate sanctions,” Reynolds said. “And for faculty and staff, we work with the Human Resources Office.”
Title IX is also the place to go to for supportive measures.
“So, something like this can be very traumatic,” Reynolds says. “It can impact us in multiple different ways how we’re able to engage and access the campus community and resources and academic services here on campus and programs.” The Title IX process is not the criminal process, but if a person wants to go that route, “We talk about criminal options as well if that’s something that they’re interested in.”
House Bill 861 also includes the “Mississippi Medical Emergency Good Samaritan and Aid to Sexual Offense Victim Reporting Act.” This act allows people who “seek medical assistance for someone who is experiencing a drug overdose shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for a drug violation if there is evidence that the person is under the influence of a controlled substance or in possession of a controlled substance as referenced in subsection (2)(b) of this section.” This also includes people who seek medical assistance while experiencing a drug overdose and if they are the person getting medical assistance. If you or someone you know is needing crisis intervention, support after surviving sexual assault, or just someone to talk to, Title IX and Student Counseling Services are available through phone, email, and in-person.
