The University of California Berkeley announced it will put $2.5 million into strengthening sexual harassment training, awareness, reporting and investigation services following a review.
The money will improve administrative and operational support to university offices that handle sexual harassment, including the Title IX office, the Student Conduct office and the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.
Carla Hesse, the interim campus lead for sexual violence and sexual harassment, says the added staff will help with any possible increases in sexual harassment and assault reporting as the school changes its culture of reporting and support.
“These resources will assist us in addressing the backlog of work and address potential future needs,” Hesse says.
In total, seven new positions will be added to the Office of Student Conduct and the Human Resources department, four positions will be added to the CARE Advocates unit and University Health Services and three full time investigators will be hired to shorten the time of investigations.
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Additional training will also be given to all senior academic and administrative staff and programs will be developed for students and faculty in the fall.
The newly allocated resources come after a review that was sparked by revelations a coach was accused of sexual misconduct in April. The coach was the third staff member at the university to be accused of sexual misconduct in recent months.
“The campus must build a new consensus about how best to handle abuses of power in our community,” says Hesse.
