If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking:
Your safety is the HIGHEST priority. Get away from the assailant quickly. Call Deerfield Academy Security 413.772.9880 or call 9-1-1.
You are not responsible for the actions of others. No one deserves to be sexually assaulted. No one deserves to be stalked. No one has the right to hurt you or touch you against your will or without consent. It is not your fault.
If you were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of the incident, you will NOT face discipline for drug/alcohol violations.
*All Deerfield Academy resources are mandated reporters for any victim under the age of 18. We are required by law to report sexual assault and misconduct to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
The Academy maintains a toll-free, independently staffed whistleblower hotline, available 24 hours a day. All calls to the hotline are confidential. You can reach the hotline at 833.619.4400.
*NELCWIT is our local sexual assault crisis center. It provides FREE, CONFIDENTIAL counseling services for victims of sexual assault and dating violence.
You have choices both on and off campus for help and support:
At Deerfield, nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of the students placed in our care. If you are in immediate danger, call Deerfield Security at 413-772-9880 or 9-1-1.
All Deerfield Academy employees are mandated reporters for any victim under the age of 18. We are required by law to report sexual assault and/or misconduct to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
The Academy has long-established protocols for handling allegations of sexual misconduct and, over the course of the last decade, put into place numerous and overlapping safeguards to protect those in our care. In cases involving Deerfield employees, this includes alerting law enforcement and may also include the hiring of an outside investigator to look into past or historic allegations.
A detailed explanation of the process for investigation complaints of sexual misconduct against a student are outlined in the Student Handbook. If a student is suspected to be in violation of the sexual misconduct policy, a Sexual Misconduct Response Committee is convened to hear the case. The committee is composed of the Dean of Students, who chairs the committee and presents the case, a Class Dean and three trained faculty members.
In addition to the protocols outlined above for investigation allegations of sexual misconduct, we regularly review our policies and procedures involving appropriate boundaries between employees and students as well as expectations for healthy relationships between students. Detailed guidelines about the rules and expectations governing student behavior, including definitions of consent, statutory rape and unwanted sexual contact can be found in the Student Handbook. We also conduct annual training for all employees and students to ensure that they have the knowledge and support to identify and report inappropriate behavior of any kind.
7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 87, Deerfield, MA 01342
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS: Deerfield Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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