San Jacinto College District encourage students to report any instance of abuse. Taylor Blackmon leads the emergency office’s Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Trafficking, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking education programs.
“I personally participate in the program because I want to provide resources and a helping hand to anyone who needs it and I also want to remove the stigma from reporting,” says Blackmon.
When a student makes the choice to report, the team at the campus Office of Emergency Management are there to make it easier on the person reporting by being there for them for every piece of it.
“If a student or employee reports sexual harassment or misconduct, we would direct them to mental
health, Title IX and then eventually the PD for any criminal matters. Reporting forms are also available online and we have plenty of resources and external agencies willing to help,” says Blackmon.
The AlertMe program formed to address campus occurrences of unwanted incidents.
“There was not a specific incident that occurred, rather we noticed a reporting disparity between our numbers on campus and the numbers reported in Harris County and the city of Houston. We are not immune to these incidents, but we feel our reporting numbers were low, due to not providing a safe space for
people to seek help,” says Blackmon.
Reporting incidents are welcomed and will be handled appropriately.
“I personally participate in the program because I want to provide resources and a helping hand to anyone who needs it. I also want to remove the stigma from reporting. A lot of times, people are ashamed to report what happened to them and it is an uncomfortable situation but seeking help is something everyone must do at some point, and no one should be ashamed.”
For more information visit https://www.sanjac.edu/support/health-support/mental-health-resources/domestic-violence