The petition
We, the undersigned members of the University of Georgia community, unequivocally condemn all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation on our campus. Sexual harassment is a legal term, not a subjective one; there should be no ambiguity regarding whether it has taken place, and the consequences for it should be swift and severe.
Unfortunately, cases arising across the UGA campus for the past several years demonstrate the urgent need for more active, reliable, and transparent enforcement of existing policy to ensure that UGA does not present a hostile environment for any of its members.
Thus, we call for the following actions to take place:
1. We call for our administration to condemn publicly, and forcefully, the harassment that has taken place on this campus.
2. We call for greater transparency and publicity regarding the enforcement of the university's existing Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policy, located at http://www.uga.edu/legal/NDAH.... . This should include extensive efforts to educate the entire university community on how to respond to cases of harassment. The administration and the Office of Legal Affairs should clarify how different types of harassment will be handled, and what penalties will result for violations. Consequences for supervisors who fail to report harassment claims (as required by the policy) must also be clarified.
3. While we recognize that all accused offenders deserve due process, we call for greater efforts to protect the identity and professional security of accusers.
4. We call for the establishment of institutions that will contribute to a shift in campus culture and provide informational resources and support to faculty, staff and students facing harassment: a) an ombuds office, and b) a campus women's center. Both such institutions are the norm at our peer and aspirational institutions.
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