University Gender Violence Services Coordinators program celebrates 10th anniversary

UNC's Gender Violence Services Coordinators program, which provides confidential support to individuals affected by gender-based violence, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Holly Lovern, one of the two coordinators working for the program, said gender-based violence includes sexual harassment, relationship violence, stalking, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. 

She said the program is unique because it is strictly confidential, and the coordinators do not have to report anything to the University or to law enforcement.

“It offers folks a space to come in, share what they're navigating and their experiences, and figure out what they're needing,” Lovern said.

According to the program's website, they offer support to any member of the UNC community, including students, employees, alums and post-doctoral students.

Lovern said the coordinators offer a variety of services, depending on what each individual needs. She said some students and employees want a confidential space to talk through their experiences, while others want information about how to report the violence they experienced. If an individual decides to report their experience to the police or the University, the coordinators can accompany them through the process, including attending hearings.

For students who are struggling academically as a result of their experience, Lovern said the coordinators also help students communicate with their professors and get University Approved Absences from the dean of students.

Lovern said that some individuals come in for a brief one-time conversation, while others continue to work with the coordinators throughout their time at UNC.

The program, which is housed under UNC's Violence Prevention and Advocacy Services, also collaborates with other organizations within UNC and in Orange County, including the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office, UNC Police and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.

The program began in 2014 when Bob Pleasants and Christi Hurt, two UNC faculty members, applied for a three-year grant from the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. 

At the time, Pleasants was serving as UNC's first interpersonal violence prevention coordinator. He said that while the prevention work was important, UNC students also needed a resource focused solely on response and recovery after experiencing gender violence.

Hurt, who was the director of the Carolina Women's Center at the time, said she helped the program get off the ground in its first year. After hiring the school's first gender violence services coordinator, she said she worked to publicize the program and connect it with other departments at UNC.

Hurt said the impact was immediate. 

“We had a lot of clients in those first few months. It was obvious we had tapped into a need,” Hurt said.  

Two years later, through a second grant, the Gender Violence Services Coordinators program hired Lovern, expanding the number of coordinators from one to two.

Since their initial founding, Lovern said that the program's visibility has gradually grown and they serve more people each year. She said they currently serve about 100 students and employees each semester. 

Hurt said the biggest change she has seen in the last 10 years is increased awareness about the program in the UNC community. She also said the team of coordinators has gotten stronger as they gain experience.

“A lot of folks take a chance and meet with somebody that's a stranger to them and share some of the most difficult parts of their experience at Carolina,” Lovern said. 

Hurt ultimately said that she wants to put the program out of business, wanting to make sure nobody gets hurt in the first place. 

“My goal is that we never need this program,” Hurt said. “But as long as we do, I'm glad we have it.”

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