Using Pláticas to Confront Policies That Violate the Confidentiality of Survivors of Sexual Abuse

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Good Intentions? The Search for Equity, Agency, and Restoration in Education Policy (Table 5)

Abstract

Using pláticas grounded in Latina critical and Chicana feminist epistemologies, the authors provide an in-depth account of tensions surrounding Texas Senate Bill 212 and an IRB-approved dissertation study. The mandate that all employees must report knowledge of an incident of sexual violence or risk termination of employment prioritizes job security over victims' rights to privacy and self-determination. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is twofold. First, this paper highlights the ethical dilemmas that arose when these two policies came into conflict in the context of educational research. Second, this paper argues for the right of survivors to determine with whom, how, when, why, and even if they elect to tell their stories.

Authors

• Cynthia C. Teran Lopez, University of Texas - El Paso
  Presenting Author

• Christina Convertino, University of Texas - El Paso
  Presenting Author