The Title IX office is in the early stages of creating a Queer Student Task Force to address sexual misconduct impacting Occidental’s LGBTQIA+ community, according to Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Broomfield. Results from last year’s campus climate survey, which showed that queer and transgender populations were experiencing high rates of sexual misconduct, catalyzed the creation of the task force.
“The results were really distressing to me because queer and trans students are underrepresented in reporting to the Title IX office,” Broomfield said.
Oli Vorster, a first-year student who applied to be on the task force, shared their enthusiasm for its creation.
“I’m a new member of the community, so for me, it’s really exciting to be able to share my story. I hope that input from myself and other people can help the community grow,” Vorster said.
Broomfield sent out an invitation to join the group in mid-September and received a number of responses from students. Broomfield said that although she has already created the task force, she will have an open door for anyone wishing to share their experience and join as members of the task force.
“I really do feel like part of the reason why I wanted this to come to Oxy is because, as a small community, I felt like I could really get to know students and engage with them directly and have a very immediate impact,” Broomfield said. “I’m committed to having us all work together and figure out what are the unmet needs and how do we get them met.”
The task force is still in its early stages, having met July 16 to discuss goals of the task force and potential ways of attaining the goals. One of the early ideas the task force has discussed has been the creation of focus groups. The focus groups will be comprised of students, faculty, staff and administrators. Broomfield said the focus groups would be used by the task force to delegate specific topics within the task force. Their goal is to find out what is not working for queer and trans students and implement changes so that they feel empowered to come forward and report misconduct. Underreporting of sexual misconduct from queer and trans populations is not unique to Occidental, according to Broomfield.
“Is it a comfort issue? Is it that they don’t know that the office can provide resources around that for them? Do they feel like the process takes too long? What are their concerns?” Broomfield said.
According to Broomfield, the Title IX office can only begin an investigation when a report is made through a formal channel.
“I can’t address what I don’t know about. If a report isn’t made to me, I can’t investigate it or assign an investigation to it, and we can’t hold the person accountable for the behavior and make sure the campus is safe,” Broomfield said.
The task force will also look to implement a new California law going into effect that allows non-binary identification a driver’s license or a state ID. Broomfield said that she hopes this will enable Occidental students, faculty and staff to identify as they choose on their Occidental documentation. California is the first state to recognize a non-binary gender.
“A lot of people view college as a way of experimenting, so I think it’s very nice that we have a way to kind of unify our values and voice and input to the community so that we get what we need and deserve,” Vorster said.
Percy Byron (first year) said he sees the task force as an avenue to get involved with LGBTQIA+ issues at Occidental.
“I’ve been looking to get more involved with queer campus spaces. I would completely want to join something that’s as crucial as this,” Byron said.
The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that 47 percent of transgender people are sexually assaulted at some point in their life.
“I do know that people who are transgender experience high rates of sexual assault. As we know, criminal proceedings and going forward with the story of assault can be further traumatizing. Going through that process, reinforcing that pain isn’t something that appeals to a lot of people,” Byron said.
According to Byron, even in queer circles and predominantly LGBTQIA+ communities, gender-based violence is still heavily stigmatized.
“You’d think that maybe conversations around those topics would occur more frequently, but because of widespread discrimination, bigotry and prejudice, it’s really difficult to come forward with those stories,” Byron said.
According to Byron, Occidental’s Title IX Queer Student Task Force will create a space on campus where LGBTQIA+ people can have discussions about sexual misconduct in a setting which is emotionally and physically comfortable, healthy and safe.
