Title IX & Sexual Misconduct

Contact

Name: Katie Colgan Vodzak, JD
Position: Title IX Coordinator
Contact Number(s):
Name: Casey Ciocca, JD
Position: Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Contact Number(s):
Name: Zoe Gingold
Position: Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Contact Number(s):

Campus and community services are available for immediate and ongoing support.

Campus Services

Community Services

  • Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR) is Philadelphia’s only rape crisis center and can be reached  through a 24-hour hotline at 215-985-3333.  WOAR provides free counseling and offers support during forensic rape examinations and any future court proceedings.
  • Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center  - 215-800-1589 -  is a private, not-for-profit center whose mission is to provide expertise in the assessment and evaluation of sexual assault victims in Philadelphia. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by on-call, specially trained and experienced Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners who provide forensic rape examinations. PSARC cares for victims regardless of their cooperation with law enforcement. PSARC is located at 300 E. Hunting Park Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124. In an emergency, call 215-425-1625 to reach the on-call sexual assault nurse examiner.
  • The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network  (RAINN) operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE and offers online support, such as online counseling and assistance finding a local counseling center,  at www.rainn.org.
  • The National Domestic Violence Hotline - 800-799-7233 -  has highly trained expert advocates available 24 hours a day to talk confidentially with anyone experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning unhealthy aspects of their relationship.
  • The Nationalities Service Center - 215-893-8400 - is a non-profit organization that provides social, educational and legal services to immigrants and refugees in the Greater Philadelphia area. It is located at 1216 Arch Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA. 
  • The Philadelphia Bar Association  - 215-238-6333 - is available to provide referrals to attorneys to assist with legal problems in and around Philadelphia.
  • Philadelphia Legal Assistance - 215-981-3800 - provides free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in Philadelphia. Its offices are located at 718 Arch St #300N, Philadelphia, PA
  • Community Legal Services of Philadelphia - 215-981-3700 -  also provides free legal assistance in civil matters to low-income Philadelphia residents. Its offices are located at 1424 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA.
  • Laurel House 1‑800‑642‑3150 is a comprehensive domestic violence agency serving individuals, families, and communities throughout Montgomery County. Thomas Jefferson University has a partnership with Laurel House and they can serve as a resource for our Jefferson community members regardless of where they live.”  

Academic Accommodations & Interim Measures

When a report of sexual misconduct is made, academic accommodations and interim measures of protection for the parties involved will be provided, if necessary. Interim measures of protection may be available with respect to academic, living, transportation and working situations. Examples include separating the parties, placing limitations on contact between the parties, housing reassignment, or interim suspension of an accused. Students will also have access to academic support services and may be given the option to withdraw from a class or take a leave of absence. 

Jefferson will make accommodations or provide protective measures if the student requests them and if they are reasonably available, regardless of whether the student chooses to report the crime to campus police or local law enforcement. Jefferson will keep confidential the information regarding the accommodations or protective measures to the extent it can do so without impairing its ability to provide them. This information will be shared only with institutional personnel whom Jefferson determines have a need to know the information in the course of carrying out their job duties or providing the accommodations or protective measures.

Any student requiring assistance in seeking or obtaining the types of accommodations or interim measures referenced in this section should contact the Title IX coordinator responsible for his/her College, who will provide assistance.

Options to Involve Campus Security & Law Enforcement

 If you are subjected to Sexual Misconduct, you have the option to report the incident to and seek assistance from law enforcement authorities, including campus security and local police. If you would like to notify the police, campus security is available and willing to assist you in doing so. It is also your right and option, absent an ongoing danger to the university community, to decline to notify campus security or the police of the Sexual Misconduct (note, however, that the crime will likely need to be included, without any personally identifying information, in the University’s annual compilation of campus crime statistics).