Resources for Changemakers
Policies and practices are crucial to ensuring that courageous ideas become courageous practices. Without courageous policies and practices, institutions run the risk of engaging in harmful practices. Leaders and changemakers might find useful Freyd’s suggested steps to promote institutional courage as guidance when developing new policies or revising existing ones:
11 Steps to Promote Institutional Courage
(based on Freyd, 2018; updated March 2022)
Comply with civil rights laws and go beyond mere compliance; beware risk management
Educate the institutional community (especially leadership)
Add checks and balances to power structure and diffuse highly dependent relationships
Respond well to victim disclosures (& create a trauma-informed reporting policy)
Bear witness, be accountable, apologize
Cherish the whistleblowers; cherish the truth tellers
Conduct scientifically-sound anonymous surveys
Regularly engage in self-study
Be transparent about data and policy
Use the organization to address the societal problem
Commit on-going resources to 1-10
Each of these steps can be used to inform institutions’ policies. For instance, an institution may create a policy that requires annual climate surveys that measure the gender and racial harassment experienced by its members. Adopting one or two policies modeled after these steps may serve as a practical introduction to practicing institutional courage, but ultimately institutions should aim to incorporate policies that address all 11 steps. It is also important that institutions work to identify other ways of promoting institutional courage through policies. The 11 steps listed here represent fundamental – but not comprehensive – actions institutions can take.
Institutional Courage is good for organizations. See Smidt AM, Adams-Clark AA, Freyd JJ (2023) Institutional courage buffers against institutional betrayal, protects employee health, and fosters organizational commitment following workplace sexual harassment, PLOS ONE 18(1): e0278830. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278830
Model Laws, Policies, Standards, & Guidance
When institutions adopt policies that follow these steps, the well-being of institutions and the people they serve is better protected. The following policies, laws, standards, and guidance are examples of policies that reflect institutional courage.
Laws
Silenced No More Act
This 2021 California legislation, SB 331, prohibits employers from using confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses to silence workers who wish to speak about any form of harassment or discrimination they experienced during their employment.
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed H.R. 4445 into law, which ensures that individuals who have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment (e.g., employees, customers, patients, and others) cannot be forced to go through arbitration if they choose to litigate.
Policy Change in Higher Education – Tools for Campus Stakeholders
Gendered violence on campus
The United States Department of Justice: Minimum Standards for creating a coordinated community response to violence against women on campus
Changing Our Campus: Building coordinated community response teams to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus: A toolkit for institutions of higher education
American Bar Association: Recommendations for improving campus student conduct processes for gender-based violence
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Guidance for measuring sexual harassment prevalence using campus climate surveys
Title IX - alternatives to mandatory reporting and compelled disclosure
A trauma-informed and research-based reporting policy is central to the goal of addressing sexual violence and is an essential step of institutional courage (see step 4 at top of this resource page).
So called “mandatory” or “required” reporting policies in higher ed are not trauma informed and not based on research. For more on why this is the case see:
Compelled disclosure: The problem with "required reporting" of sexual violence on college campuses
For a model policy: as of September 2017, most faculty and staff at the University of Oregon are not mandatory reporters but they are required to support and respect students who disclose an abuse experience. See:
Faculty title policy
Professor Emerit (not a typo): It is time to reject gendered titles for retired faculty. In February 2022, the University of Oregon senate passed a series of resolutions eliminating the official use of the gendered terms Professor Emeritus and Professor Emerita in favor of the non-gendered term Professor Emerit.
See Also
What works to prevent violence against women and girls? A presentation by Prof Rachel Jewkes
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24994.
Institutional & Legal Support
Please note: we cannot guarantee the quality of support provided by the organizations listed here.
If you are seeking support within your institution, find out if there is access to an ombuds person - either through a contractual relationship with an external ombuds person or through an ombuds office at the institution. If an ombuds person or office exists, you may find confidential and useful guidance there.
If you are a leader of an institution that does not provide access to an ombuds person, we recommend (consistent with Step 3 of the steps for nurturing institutional courage listed at the start of this page) contracting with such a person or even creating your own internal ombuds office. See the International Ombuds Association for more information.
If you are looking for support regarding whistleblowing in the tech industry, The Tech Worker Handbook offers resources and information for every step of the whistleblowing process.
The American Association for University Women (AAUW) provides legal advocacy in some gender equity cases and also offers fellowships and grants.
If you are currently in need of a personal attorney in the US, you can contact your state’s bar association for lawyer referral services, which can help match you with an attorney who may be able to help with your specific situation.
Resources for Child Justice
Please note: we cannot guarantee the quality of support provided by the organizations listed here.
California Protective Parents Association: https://www.caprotectiveparents.org/
Justice for Children: https://justiceforchildren.org/
Counseling Support and Resources
Trauma impacts millions of people. If you or someone you know is in need of support or assistance following trauma, there are many organizations that might be able to help.
Please note: we cannot guarantee the quality of support provided by the organizations listed here.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: https://ncadv.org/resources
National Sexual Violence Resource Center: https://www.nsvrc.org/
RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network): https://www.rainn.org/
LGBT National Help Center: https://www.glbthotline.org/
Sidran Institute: Traumatic Stress Education & Advocacy: https://www.sidran.org/
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 1-800-273-8255
Those seeking counseling support may also find useful information at this resource page maintained by Courage Affiliated Educator, Laura. S. Brown, PhD: http://www.drlaurabrown.com/resources/
Another important way people can help support those who have experienced trauma is by being good listeners when difficult information is disclosed. Supportive responses often play an important role in the trauma recovery process. This webpage provides an overview of the characteristics of supportive responses to trauma disclosures.