By Molly Igoe and Brooke Schultz
News Editors
Lauren Gibson, former director of Wellness and Prevention Education, accepted a new position as a regional navigator for human trafficking at For All Seasons, a Behavioral Health & Rape Crisis Center. Her last day at Washington College was Dec. 14. Rachel Boyle, head field hockey coach, is temporarily stepping in to Gibson’s former position.
Candace Wannamaker, associate vice president for Student Affairs and Title IX Coordinator, said, “For the last two-and-a-half years, under Lauren’s direction, the office has established a strong group of Sexual Assault Response Advocates; a dedicated group of Wellness Educators trained to provide a variety of programs and initiatives to build skills for students to develop healthy relationships, intervene when they see something that is bothersome or dangerous, communicating boundaries and respect, and making responsible choices around alcohol and other drugs; and managing our Peer Mentoring program.”
Gibson joined For All Seasons to address human trafficking, which is defined by the Human Trafficking Hotline as “a form of modern-day slavery.” Traffickers use “force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will.”
“Human trafficking is a high profit crime with relatively low sanctions and so it’s very abundant,” Gibson said. “The goal of regional navigators is to really work together and collaborate together to ensure that victims of human trafficking get the services that they need, that we fill any gaps in services that we see, and to train and provide programming for our community’s law enforcement, schools, things like that.”
This position was possible thanks to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant through the Maryland Governor’s Office for Crime Control and Prevention.
“It’s really important to work with the different agencies and organizations that may see human trafficking victims, but may not immediately recognize it. These include hotels, law enforcement, schools, restaurants and bars, detention centers, mental health clinics, and many more,” Gibson said.
Although this move opens up new opportunities for Gibson, she said she did need time to think over leaving WC. “It was a hard decision for me, leaving the College. I developed strong relationships with my colleagues and the students, and will miss everyone dearly. But it is exciting that I get to focus on my passion, which is providing advocacy for sexual assault survivors and working on ending all forms of sexual violence for good.”
During her time at WC, Gibson strove to improve education and awareness about sexual assault. When she started, there were two Sexual Assault Response Advocates and herself. There was no phone number and no real system for students to easily access the resource. “Students would have to call Public Safety or their RA to get connected to an advocate, or go on our website,” she said. “I started doing some recruiting for faculty and staff to be advocates and have built it up from there. We got a phone, we got a phone number, we have started some marketing, so that has been a really successful program, and I think students are starting to know about it.”
Gibson also began the late night alternative program, Goose Nation After Dark, which she said has become one of her favorite programs. “There were some people who were unsure if students were actually going to come to these types of late night events without alcohol. However, we have had a lot of success with this program. Just in numbers, we had an average of about 45 people come to our events, with the biggest events being the Gingerbread House Making Events that were done in partnership with Rotoract, Student Environmental Alliance in 2015 and Habitat for Humanity in 2016. I think it shows that there are students who want to do on-campus social events on Friday and Saturday nights that don’t involve the party scene.”
Looking toward the future of her department at WC, Gibson said that she would love to see the advocate program grow and involve more faculty and staff. “I’d love to see more partnerships with Greek Life, athletics, faculty and staff, and other student organizations like SGA to raise awareness in preventing sexual violence, creating a culture that accepts and expects bystander intervention, and promotes responsible drinking behaviors,” she said. At her alma mater, students participated in a Take Back the Night event, which she said was a powerful night. “WC students have a lot of potential in creating lasting cultural change around this issue, and I’d love to hear how they go about doing that.”
Gibson said she enjoyed her time at WC. “It gave me a lot more experiences than I’ve ever had,” she said. “I got to work closely with a variety of students and all of them have helped me grow in so many ways. I loved seeing their passion for what they do, whether or not it was related to my office’s work. I loved my experience at WC, and I will always consider ‘WAC’ a huge part of my history and journey.”