MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg has joined with the YWCA Greater Harrisburg to bring a dedicated, full-time sexual assault advocate on campus to assist the college in efforts to educate the campus community and provide support and assistance to survivors.
Lily Duarte, a Penn State Harrisburg alumna, will assist the college in providing bystander intervention programming; bringing awareness and education to the campus related to sexual assault, stalking, dating violence and human trafficking; and providing direct services to survivors.
“We are pleased to partner with the YWCA Greater Harrisburg on this very important resource for our college community,” said Penn State Harrisburg Chancellor Mukund Kulkarni. “A dedicated sexual assault advocate will join a number of resources the college provides to combat sexual violence and misconduct on campus. Sexual misconduct is a deeply troubling issue, one that will take the entire community to address. We remain committed to ensuring the safety of students and we thank the YWCA Greater Harrisburg for their commitment to this partnership.”
Services Duarte will provide include crisis intervention; safety planning; individual counseling; accompaniment to law enforcement, hospitals, or campus administration; and assistance obtaining sexual-violence protection orders. The campus advocate will also assist in training staff and students to recognize the signs and indicators of sexual and intimate-partner violence and human trafficking.
“Penn State Harrisburg has been very proactive in working on this issue and we are committed to supporting the college in their efforts to address campus sexual assault,” said Rhonda Hendrickson, YWCA Greater Harrisburg director of Violence Intervention and Prevention Services. “Our services are completely confidential, which means survivors have a safe place to come and receive services and support,” said Hendrickson.
Duarte’s contact information is advocate@ywcahbg.org, 717-948-6326.
Penn State Harrisburg provides a wealth of additional resources on sexual assault and misconduct, including medical assistance, police services, emotional support, and victim/witness advocates. For more information about these resources, visit https://harrisburg.psu.edu/safety-police-services/sexual-assault-resources and https://harrisburg.psu.edu/student-conduct.