For immediate release

Provo, Utah, January 19, 2017– The Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault (UCASA) today released a statement released a statement regarding the selection of the Title IX Coordinator, the Deputy Title Ix Coordinator and Victim Advocate at Brigham Young University. Turner C. Bitton, Executive Director of UCASA released the following statement on the newly appointed positions.

“Both Ms. Leavitt and Ms. Turley have demonstrated a commitment to serving survivors of sexual assault. Ms. Leavitt has been an active participant in the Utah County Sexual Assault Response Team and has been a source of support for survivors of sexual assault. Ms. Turley was trained through UCASA's 40 Hour Rape Advocacy Certificate course and is a dedicated and passionate victim advocate. We understand that victim advocacy at any institution does not exist in a vacuum and in many ways the success of any advocacy program depends on the level of engagement that the local community has committed. We will support Ms. Turley and Ms. Leavitt as they begin their new positions.”

Adding further, he stated:

“We take the experience of every survivor extremely seriously.  We share the desire to improve policies on all college campuses to improve their response to sexual violence. We are committed to supporting the needs and interests of survivors across the state, on and off campus. We believe that there still remains critical work to be done. This work includes the official adoption of a defined policy providing safety and amnesty from honor code violations. We acknowledge that significant progress  has been made at the University. Many of the concerns raised in the letter to President Worthen have been or are in the process of being improved.”

On the response letter from President Worthen, Bitton added:

“We understand that survivors of sexual violence at Brigham Young University have historically not experienced the level of support that they deserved. UCASA’s role has always been to work with institutions, survivors, and other stakeholders to improve the response to sexual violence. We endeavor to believe in  the best of intentions from all parties. We applaud the concrete actions that Brigham Young University has made toward improving the response to sexual violence on campus.”

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Turner C. Bitton at (801) 564-3860 or email at [email protected].