State University of New York Translates Resources for Victims into 100+ Languages
SUNY Resources for Victims of Sexual Assault & Violence Now Translated Into More Than 100 Languages
February 16, 2017
Albany – The State University of New York today announced an expanded offering of its SUNY SAVR (Sexual Assault and Violence Response) resources for victims and survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence. In addition to the local contacts and information previously available, SUNY has translated the Affirmative Consent, Amnesty, and Bill of Rights provisions of Enough is Enough legislation into more than 100 languages, developed a visa and immigration resource specific to international and immigrant victims and survivors of violence, and will be making all of its resources publicly available so that any college, State agency, or community organization can access them for free.
SUNY SAVR can be found through a simple Google search, and directly at response.suny.edu or www.suny.edu/violence-response.
“We developed SAVR with SUNY students in mind, but the information is relevant to all New Yorkers, in particular in how it provides local and State-wide resources,” said Joseph Storch, SUNY Associate Counsel and SAVR Project Coordinator. “At the same time, with the additional translation work, both our international students, their families back home, and people traveling to the U.S., have access to this critical information.”
Other upgrades to SAVR includes a list of New York State Police locations with staff campus assault investigators, organizations sponsored by the Office for New Americans that can provide information to immigrant victims of violence, and hospital locations locally that offer the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam at no direct cost to the victim.
SUNY is currently developing a customizable form through which colleges and community organizations across the country may input campus-specific data, and download SAVR resources, at no charge, for their own communities and constituents.
About SUNY SAVR
SAVR resources build upon SUNY’s national leadership in providing guidance for colleges and universities to comply with federal guidelines including the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) regulations, University-wide Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Policies, an international Study Abroad Clery Act and Title IX Procedure for SUNY colleges, and a training series that attracts thousands of registrants each year.
The tool was launched in September 2015, following Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signing of the Enough is Enough legislation to combat sexual assault on college and university campuses statewide. SUNY SAVR organizes resources by campus, from disclosure to counseling to law enforcement, and also includes a comprehensive list of community resources available to victims and survivors. Resources are tagged if they are 24/7, confidential, legal resources, offer the sexual assault forensic exam, or offer visa and immigration assistance.
To develop a similar resource for individuals who are not U.S. citizens, SUNY worked with immigration law experts from throughout the country to develop a resource specific to immigrant and international student victims and survivors of violence. The Visa and Immigration resource uses plain language to provide additional information to non-citizen students including reporting on and off campus, specific visa statuses for victims of violence and trafficking, and where to find immigration attorneys. The Visa and Immigration resource is also available online.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school and business in the state. In 2015-16, SUNY served nearly 1.3 million students, including nearly 600,000 in credit bearing courses and programs and more than 700,000 through continuing education and community outreach programs. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in nearly $1 billion of externally-sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree are SUNY alumni. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.