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Confidential Resources

• The Center for Awareness, Response, and Education (CARE) is confidential space for students impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence or stalking, including friends or partners of survivors.
  
• Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) provides a variety of mental health services for students on the Evanston and Chicago campuses. There is no charge for services.
• TimelyCare is a free mental health app that provides access to virtual well-being resources, including scheduled counseling, the TalkNow on-demand service, Health Coaching, and Group Sessions.
• Religious and Spiritual Life provides programs, staff, and spaces to help students explore meaning and purpose, grow in their religious or spiritual traditions, practice social justice, and create community.
• The Office of the Ombudsperson provides confidential and informal assistance for resolving university-related concerns, is independent of the university's formal administrative structure, and considers all sides of an issue in a impartial manner.
• is Northwestern's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider. The EAP is available to faculty, staff (including staff who are also students), and household members and provides 24/7/365 free and confidential access to a variety of mental health and well-being services and resources, including short-term counseling.

Survivor Resources
The University has a comprehensive list of on-campus and community survivor resources, including the Center for Awareness, Response, and Education (CARE).

NUhelp
For more information on Northwestern’s wellness, safety and crisis resources, .

ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵwill not utilize the survey to investigate disclosures of sexual misconduct. The data collected is anonymous and such action is prohibited by state law. 

If you wish to report an instance of sexual or gender harassment, dating or domestic violence, sexual assault/violence, or stalking, . To discuss reporting options confidentially, speak to a confidential advisor through CARE. 

The survey takes about 30 minutes to complete, although the exact time will vary. You can skip any questions that you do not wish to answer, and you may stop your participation at any time.

Participation is voluntary, and you can skip any questions that you do not wish to answer.

Students who were enrolled at ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵduring the 2023-2024 academic year in at least one course and are physically located within the United States at the time of the survey will be eligible to participate.

All respondents must be at least 18 years old to complete the questionnaire.

Caring for Yourself
Any responses to this survey are valid, and may be different from what you might expect, or how others may respond. Whether for yourself or others, there are many steps you can make to take care, but having a plan in place can be very helpful. Some options to take might include finding and creating a private and calming environment to take the survey. This might include being in your room, or with trusted friends. This could also include having items nearby that help soothe you such as a coloring book, fidget toys or another item you find calming. Remember to take breaks as needed.

No matter how you feel while taking the survey, this feeling is valid. If you have techniques or skills you’ve used in past triggering situations that have worked, those may be helpful in this situation as well, or take a look at CARE’s healing resources page, that include journal prompts, guided meditation, and other techniques. Another helpful resource is CAPS self-help resources.

Supporting Others
You can support a friend by listening to their experience, acknowledging their feelings, and believing them unconditionally. Thank them for sharing their experience with you, and remind them that they have options. Do not minimize their experience, or the survey content that triggered them. Refer your friend to further support, either on or off campus, if they are interested, but do not pressure them into any decisions.

For more information on Northwestern’s wellness, safety and crisis resources, .

The survey questions were written by a and provided to the University. ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵhad the option to add questions and did so around student classification (undergraduate, graduate, professional), and ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵschool affiliation.

The survey asks questions about perceptions of student wellness and campus safety, understanding of resources, consent, and your experiences with the following types of harm in the last 12 months: sexual and gender harassment, stalking, dating and domestic violence, and sexual violence.

Per state law, the survey responses are anonymous. ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵwill not know who has completed the survey based on the results. No identifiable information is retained in the survey responses.

To protect your privacy, no one from ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵwill know who completes the survey. We are required to report aggregate data for each question to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. However, we are very sensitive to the possibility that aggregated reports of survey data could unintentionally identify university community members who belong to unique or small demographic groups.

Questions about age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, citizenship status, and if you have a disability are asked in the survey. Additionally, the survey collects information about participation in campus services/activities, but it will not ask for details about your specific organization, club, team, etc.

You can skip any questions that you do not wish to answer.

The data will be collected and analyzed by the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Student Affairs, and the Office of the Provost. Data will be reported in aggregate only. Aggregate data will be sent to the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) per state law.

An aggregate summary of the results will be submitted to the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) for publication. In addition, campus level results will be published on the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance website.

In accordance with state law, the survey will be administered annually.

Although this specific survey is new as of 2024, ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵhas conducted surveys about sexual misconduct in 2015 and 2019. To see the results of those surveys please visit the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance's reports webpage.

To ask a question about the survey, contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance at OCR@northwestern.edu. If you wish to report an instance of sexual or gender harassment, dating or domestic violence, sexual assault/violence, or stalking, report to OCR at www.northwestern.edu/NUReportSexualMisconduct.

To speak with someone confidentially about your survey experience or discuss reporting options, speak to a confidential advisor through CARE.