By Abigail Passafiume
Executive Director for the Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence, Kelli Owens, visited SUNY Plattsburgh to bring awareness to Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent budget proposals, focusing on initiatives involving gender-based violence, domestic violence, crime victim service and reproductive rights and how this impacts students, faculty and staff.
Owens and Bea Hanson, the director of the office of victim services, have traveled through each region of New York to discuss Hochul’s priorities and support to survivors. Plattsburgh marks their halfway point on their journey.
Informing students, faculty and staff was not the only goal, Owens wanted to talk about what others wanted to talk about and answer as many questions as possible.
Each school, from elementary to higher education, has different needs in terms of addressing domestic violence and gender based violence. By visiting numerous schools, the directors are able to learn what is working and what needs to be improved from children to young adults. One initiative that is crucial for students to be informed about is the Enough is Enough law.
“We want to make sure that college campuses and community based agencies are working together in a way which protects students and gives students access to the services they want. If we’re being survivor-centered, that means we’re listening to the survivor, and it may not be a law enforcement intervention that they want,” Owens said.
The Enough is Enough law requires universities and colleges to have procedures and guidelines to help students and survivors be supported if they ever needed to be. The law also gives money to these college level programs to inspire each school to come up with new initiatives to help prevent domestic and gender based violence.
“We are thinking about what does the survivor need, as opposed to what does the system need to have in order to hold somebody accountable,” Owens said.
The U.S. department of education has recently reverted back to the 2020 Title IX regulations, leaving many students questioning the future of campus programs as Plattsburgh has advanced in the past few years. Due to the Enough is Enough law, New York schools will be able to keep their recent efforts towards survivor centered services and engaging their students in being informed on the resources provided for students.
“As often, New York takes the first step, and Enough is Enough is one of those processes,” Owens said.
One new area of focus regarding the Enough is Enough law is to ensure the correct assistance for a student experiencing technology-facilitated abuse. Domestic or gender based violence can happen online and affects the survivor just as much as it can in person.
“The Governor is invested in us doing research and understanding what resources need to come for students, parents, teachers, faculty and law enforcement around technology-facilitated abuse, because it is so new and rampant, we really are digging into that,” Owens said.
Many domestic violence and gender based violence cases now have an online aspect. As a society, especially young adults, people have become so attached to our phones. While being online constantly, violence can affect students from anywhere at any time.
There has been recent talk from president Donald Trump’s cabinet of a freeze on grants and loans to numerous nonprofits, including some that provide support and services to survivors of gender based violence and domestic violence. Although this sounds daunting, the Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Office of Victim Services is not willing to back slide on the progress that has been made.
“The Governor’s been very clear, we’re not going to panic and we’re not going to sacrifice New York’s values around equity, around discrimination, around sexual assault, around gender based violence,” Owens said. “We’re just not going to sacrifice that.”
President Trump, although saying a lot of things, isn’t necessarily saying the truth to the media. Knowledge is powerful in protecting student rights.
“New York is very committed, both the governor and the Attorney General, to make sure that the promises that were made are constitutionally in place —which is a budget — are carried out,” Owens said.
The Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Office of Victim Services are here to help students, faculty and staff get what they need when they need it. The resources are there, but SUNY Plattsburgh’s student and faculty body are the only ones that can change the culture on our campus and help continue the efforts set in place to make the college experience safe and beneficial.
SUNY Oneonta is currently working with The Office for prevention of Domestic Violence on a program called Aspirational Masculinity, created by former NFL player, Don McPherson. The program allows men to have their own conversations regarding their gender and domestic violence. This program hopes to foster an understanding of empathy, emotional honesty and how that can be impacting their personal relationships.
Plattsburgh’s office of DEI has a similar initiative and offers group meetings, for all genders to talk about masculinity and gender based violence. The discussion points to why these behaviors exist and what we can do as a campus to change our communities culture. The group meets every other Friday and hopes to create a judgement free and accepting environment for students to come share their personal feelings or experiences involving domestic and gender based violence.
The Office of Domestic Violence Prevention and Victim services will continue its relationship with SUNY Plattsburgh and schools across New York. They are here to provide students with survivor centered support and new information that can help our students and campus stay as safe as possible.
