Renae DeSautel was an undergrad at Southern Oregon University when she went to her first informational session on sexual violence. It was presented by the campus’ Women’s Center. She left appalled and outraged at what was going on in her community. This began her effort to help victims of sexual assault and her eight-year journey in becoming the University of Oregon’s first Sexual Violence Response and Support Services coordinator.
Out of a pool of 56 applicants, DeSautel was hired this fall by the office of the Dean of Students to help create a stronger connection between services on campus. The interview process consisted of three interviews with different panels, including students, administration and other campus partners.
“You don’t always end up with a unanimous decision,” said Penny Daugherty, director of the office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity. “But from what I’ve heard around the edges this one was pretty close to being unanimous.”
DeSautel’s position at the UO is to support survivors while coordinating between different services on campus to make the process as easy as possible. From emotional support to academic or employment accommodations, DeSautel is the point of contact for student survivors to utilize as a resource.
The UO’s sexual violence response network has been established over the years and much of the same procedures will be kept this year, but the aim of DeSautel’s position is to strengthen the coordination between systems.
Now students will no longer have to retell the incident and if wanted, will have step-by-step guidance throughout the process. She will work with the offices of the Dean of Students and Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, the UO Health Center and UOPD to move through procedures in an institutionally caring way based on the survivor’s wants and needs.
Students often think that if a report is made to the UO, all staff and faculty will know about the incident. But that’s not the case. Only a small number of highly qualified people will be informed and work to not only support the survivor but also prevent future incidents from occurring.
On-campus services provided by the office of the Dean of Students include academic, employment and housing accommodations. If a student misses an exam because of a safety issue, such as the accused being in that class, arrangements can be made without revealing the incident to the professor. This is a resource many students don’t know about and a pro of using the on-campus services. Off-campus resources can provide the anonymity some survivors want as well.
All resources given to survivors are optional to use but are always available regardless of when the event occurred.
DeSautel encourages any student to come to her with questions about sexual assault and violence and said her door is always open.
“I want to be a resource for the entire campus,” DeSautel said.