What to expect when meeting with a member of the confidential Gender-Based Violence Prevention Team

Note: this page was updated in March 2024 to reflect new informtion.

The members of the Gender-Based Violence Prevention (GBVP) Team are confidential resources for all students and trainees at Johns Hopkins.

Because we are confidential, we are not required to share accounts of gender-based violence (stalking, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment) with anyone, including other Hopkins departments, unlike responsible employees. There are a few exceptions to our confidentiality, which are detailed below.*

As confidential resources, we are able to help students and trainees who have experienced gender-based harm or folks who are supporting others who have experienced gender-based harm. Some of the things we can help with are:

• finding additional resources;
• offering support through university and local reporting processes (if this is a route a person would like);
• attending meetings related to the harm experienced, like those with Office of Institutional Equity or Student Outreach and Support, or even filing peace or protective orders with the Baltimore City Courts;
• acting as a sounding board;
• helping with emails and other communications related to the harm someone has experienced; or
• by holding space to process, to have someone to listen, and to just talk.

We hope to be helpful with anything that requires help.

While we don’t act as counselors or therapists, our training is rooted in trauma-informed response and survivor-led problem-solving. We are also well-versed in the neurobiological and physical responses to trauma. Because we are committed to these practices, students can expect to find a judgement-free space where we center the needs of the people we work with, let them make decisions for themselves, and support them in those decisions no matter what they are (as long as the decisions are safe for them and others).

Folks are welcome to share as little or as much as they like about why they are seeking our services. Some people might find it helpful to share a lot of information, while others never share with us why they have reached out. We never need to know more than anyone feels comfortable sharing, and we will never ask. Anywhere in that spectrum is ok. Folks can make appointments with us to ask for help connecting to resources, to work on solutions to specific problems, to learn about reporting processes, or just to have someone listen to them.

Please let us know if you have questions. We’re happy to set up a time to chat via phone, in-person, or on Zoom.

• GBVP Team main contact info: [email protected] or 443-927-3548
• Alyse Campbell, LMSW, Associate Director GBVP: [email protected], 410-516-5133

*While we are not required to share accounts of gender-based violence with anyone, there are a few exceptions to that policy. They are:

• if someone shares wanting to harm themselves or someone else; or
• if someone shares accounts of abuse or neglect of a minor (even if the person is no longer a minor) or a vulnerable adult (like an elderly person or a person with significant disability), even if the perpetrator is deceased.