ASWSU hosted a town hall Thursday for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, educating individuals on how to file assault reports and what the process looks like.

Resource centers on campus, like the WSU Office of Compliance and Civil Rights, help students file sexual assault complaints and reports. The process can be daunting, and having a step-by-step walkthrough about how to file reports is helpful, said Joel Aleman, director of University Affairs.

“It’s one of those things where students are often very nervous about not knowing what to expect,” he said.

It is easy to file different reports through CCR’s website, whether that be a document of concern or an informal or formal report, CCR assistant director Daniel Records said.

He said that by giving basic information, individuals can fill out a sexual assault report anonymously.

“Sometimes people want to pursue a formal investigation process where the university makes a determination about what happened,” he said. “Whether or not it violates university policy, and then referring it to the appropriate sanctioning process like the Student Conduct Office.”

However, Records said anonymous filings restrict the ability for CCR to follow up with the filer and provide updates about the case.

The central intake and referrals office reviews any case relating to the university’s discrimination policy, he said. If an individual has a situation that includes discrimination on the basis of protected classes, sex or gender-based violence, they can meet with a trained investigator to address the policies and processes of the university and see what options are available to them.

Records said most of the time, the office can get in touch with the filer within 24 hours. The goal is to complete investigations within 90 days, focusing on completing report paperwork for the last 30 days.

Individuals always have the option to report to the police, said Bill Gardner, WSU Police Department chief.

Gardner said WSU PD’s investigation process is trauma-based and victim-centered, which means people who report to the police have control over the investigation. Filers can ask the officer for a full investigation, which can lead to prosecution. They can also ask the police department to speak to some people and not others.

Officers who investigate cases are specially trained to understand what trauma means to people and what people do when they are traumatized, he said.

Gardner said the officers understand physiological and emotional traumas, which helps them provide good options to people who are victims of assault.