The Counseling Center

Decisions about reporting relationship violence are individual ones.  Fear and embarrassment can cause victims to be reluctant to tell others about the abuse. Discussing the abuse with the police may allow the perpetrator to be held accountable for the crime.

• Incidents occurring on Buffalo State’s campus can be reported to UPD. (716-878-6333)
• Incidents occurring off-campus can be reported to the Buffalo City Police or to the local police department where the incident took place.
• Filing a report with either University Police or a local police department does not mean you have to press charges.
• Incidents perpetrated by a Buffalo State student can be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs (716-878-4618) in addition to UPD or a local police department.
• New York State requires police officers to complete a Domestic Incident Report (DIR) every time they respond to a domestic violence call.  The DIR is an official record of what happened when the police responded.  It is important that you keep a copy for your records.
• Victims of sexual violence perpetrated by a Buffalo State student or employee have specific rights guaranteed by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and can file grievances under the college’s sexual harassment and sex discrimination policies.  See the Victim/Survivor Rights page for more information.  For more information on Title IX please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity Office.
• If you do not want to or are unsure about filing a report with the police or Judicial Affairs, you can speak confidentially about your options with someone at The Counseling Center (716-878-4436), Weigel Health Center (716-878-6711), Crisis Services (716-834-3131).  

Confidentiality and Privacy

Buffalo State will do everything it can to preserve your privacy; this means that only people who need to know about the incident will be given your name and other limited information as necessary. 

Privacy is different from confidentiality.  Confidentiality means that no information can be disclosed and your support person cannot talk and work with others on your behalf without your written consent.  Most services at Buffalo State are private and not confidential.

You can speak confidentiality about any incident of power-based interpersonal violence with someone from  The Counseling Center, or Weigel Health Center.  You may also wish to speak confidentiality with some of our community resources. They will not disclose anything you tell them without your permission.