DePaul takes confidentiality very seriously and takes steps to protect confidentiality to the extent possible by law. Information shared with designated confidential campus or community professionals cannot be revealed without express permission, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Although DePaul aims to honor requests for confidentiality where possible, there may be times where the university will have to move forward with the Student Conduct Process or other response even if an individual declines to participate.
If you request of the Title IX Coordinator that your identity remain completely confidential, the Title IX Coordinator will explain that the university cannot always honor that request and guarantee complete confidentiality. If you wish to maintain confidentiality or request that no investigation be conducted or disciplinary action taken, the university must weigh that request against the university’s obligation to provide a safe, non-discriminatory environment for all students, employees and third parties, including you.
Under those circumstances, the Title IX Coordinator will determine whether your request for complete confidentiality and/or no investigation can be honored under the facts and circumstances of the particular case, including whether the university has a legal obligation to report the incident, conduct an investigation or take other appropriate steps. Without information about your identity, the university’s ability to meaningfully investigate the incident and pursue disciplinary action against the perpetrator may be severely limited.
DePaul is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals involved in a report of prohibited conduct. In any report, investigation or resolution of a report, every effort will be made to protect the privacy interests of all individuals involved in a manner consistent with the need for a thorough review of the allegation and to the extent required or permitted by law. Information will only be shared with those employees who “need to know” in order to assist the review, investigation, resolution or remediation of the report.
A sexual violence report may result in the gathering of extremely sensitive information about you and other individuals in the campus community. While such information is considered confidential, university policy regarding access to public records and disclosure of personal information may require disclosure of certain information concerning a report of sexual violence. In such cases, efforts will be made to redact the records, as appropriate, in order to protect our identity and privacy and the privacy of other involved individuals.
The university will not generally notify parents or legal guardians of your report of sexual violence unless you are under the age of 18 or you provide the university with written permission to do so.
Under Illinois law, and pursuant to university policy, all university employees, including the Title IX Coordinator, are mandatory child abuse and neglect reporters and should explain to victims under 18 years of age that they are required to report the Sexual Violence incident to the police.