In the wake of sexual abuse scandals at Pennsylvania State University and Syracuse University, administrators are reminding Duke employees about existing policies governing various types of sexual misconduct.

Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration and emergency response coordinator, emailed a memo to all Duke managers and department heads Nov. 28 and linked to two Duke sexual misconduct policies. The policies specifically addressed sexual harassment and sexual assault. Cavanaugh also distributed a letter from the Office of Counsel outlining state law regarding reporting of sexual abuse of minors. Duke requires all employees who are told by a student of a sexual assault to report the incident to the Office of Student Conduct, which will then decide what further action to take.

Sheila Broderick, gender violence intervention services coordinator at the Women’s Center, said the scandals at Penn State and Syracuse have generated discussion among sexual abuse victims at Duke.

“A lot of my clients I’ve been working with have talked a lot about Penn State and Syracuse,” Broderick said. “Those situations have stirred up a lot of feelings of being vulnerable on a college campus.”

University officials have no current plans to revise the three components of its sexual misconduct policy in light of the sex abuse scandals at other universities, Cavanaugh added.

The original Duke Harassment Policy has been in place since 1994 and prohibits harassment or sexual coercion of any kind by anyone enrolled or employed at the University.

Two years ago, the University adopted a similar policy requiring employees told of a sexual assault on a student to report the assault to a supervisor. That policy, which Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said is unique among universities, requires that employees report any sexual assault via a website that refers the incident to the Office of Student Conduct.

When the mandatory sexual assault reporting requirement was adopted two years ago, some critics worried that the requirement would dissuade victims of sexual assault from reaching out to University staff members for help, Moneta said.

“The reality is we’ve seen many more reports as a result of it,” Moneta said. “That was a very interesting concern that got raised when we first were reviewing this expectation. Our own advocacy staff, at the [Office of Gender Violence Prevention and Intervention] and the Women’s Center, were actually quite adamant that this would bring forward new victims.”

The policy defines sexual misconduct, consent and the role alcohol and other drugs can play in decision-making. It also includes some slight exceptions to the reporting rule. In some cases, North Carolina law requires student access to counselors, medical providers and members of the clergy to speak with students in confidence regarding incidents of sexual assault. Every other employee, from professors to housekeepers, must report sexual misconduct under the policy.

Another aspect of Duke’s sexual misconduct policy addressed in the memo involves sexual misconduct directed toward a minor, which must be reported to the police under North Carolina law.

Moneta noted that a student who learns of an assault on a fellow student has no obligation under Duke policy to report the assault to either the University or campus police.

Broderick said a good sexual misconduct policy includes detailed definitions of prohibited conduct, scenarios that illustrate how real-life situations could be handled, and avoidance of heterosexist or heteronormative language, since sexual violence can occur against both genders.

Duke is considered to have one of the best reporting policies among universities, Broderick added.

“I do a lot of research on what best practices are in the ingredients of a good sexual misconduct policy,” Broderick said. “Duke has every one of those in their policy.”