Kansas University should have a formal partnership with local victim support agencies, KU’s Sexual Assault Task Force members agreed Friday.

The task force‘s next step will be to draft a memorandum of understanding among KU, GaDuGi SafeCenter and the Willow Domestic Violence Center and formally recommend it to the university. The task force plans one more meeting this semester, on Dec. 5, and will reconvene in January after winter break.

Leaders from GaDuGi and Willow spoke at the task force’s Nov. 7 meeting. Both already provide services to the campus and its students, but leaders said a formal agreement would clarify the agencies’ roles and help avoid duplication of services.

Though suggested protocol has yet to be ironed out, Sexual Assault Task Force co-chairwoman Alesha Doan said getting specially trained professionals involved right away could help victims.

Doan, an associate professor of political science and chairwoman of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, said it was a tremendous burden for staff such as resident assistants and professors without extensive training in crisis management to respond to victims alone.

“Most people want to do the right thing. They don’t know how to do the right thing,” Doan said. “They’re not trained for it.”

Doan said the task force also should develop suggestions for the future of KU’s new Campus Assistance, Resource and Education (CARE) Coordinator position, within the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity.

In October KU hired former GaDuGi executive director Sarah Jane Russell to fill the role on a one-year basis. Among other duties, Russell will “navigate” for complainants, witnesses, respondents and others involved in sexual harassment and sexual violence investigations, according to KU’s job description.

Sexual Assault Task Force members also are drafting a bill suggesting changes to the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Specifically, changes will address the university’s jurisdiction regarding instances of sexual harassment, sexual assault and intimate partner violence, said Angela Murphy, task for co-chairwoman and the graduate affairs director for Student Senate. She said she hopes to present the bill to Student Senate Dec. 8.