Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations

Sexual misconduct within the corporate and nonprofit sectors, from business, education and hospitality to sports, healthcare and government, can have staggering consequences for victims, the accused and the organizations with which they are affiliated. One only has to think about the recent high-profile cases that have been covered in the media to understand the damage that individuals and institutions suffer in personal, financial and reputational terms. Consider this:

According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted every two minutes.
The National Institute of Justice says that 18-20% of women will experience rape or some other form of sexual assault during their college years.
Over 200,000 sexual assaults against children are reported to the police nationwide each year, according to the Crimes Against Children Research Center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that one in four women and one in six men were sexually abused before the age of 18.
The AFL-CIO reports that an estimated 36,500 rapes and sexual assaults occur annually in the workplace.
Of more than 400 discrimination suits and settlements that were reported to the Federal Government in 2011, nearly 20% were sexual harassment claims and 37% involved the food service industry.
Alcohol-fueled encounters leading to sexual misconduct allegations are prevalent in the workplace and on campus, with studies indicating that at least 50% of sexual assault is associated with alcohol use.

These statistics suggest that institutions in all walks of life need to improve their handling of sexual misconduct, especially those entities involved with children and young adults. They need to provide strong and effective policies prohibiting such behavior, better education and training regarding their policies and the substantive area, and when incidents are reported, they need to seek outside, independent investigators with experience and expertise. Only by engaging in these steps will the statistics above ever change and the damage presently being done to the individuals and institutions involved be eliminated.

T&M RESPONSE:

T&M Protection Resources, a global security and investigations firm, has responded to this need by establishing a business division to provide consulting, training and investigations of sexual misconduct issues and allegations and has hired one of the nation’s preeminent experts in this field to lead it. T&M’s Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations division is led by Lisa M. Friel, the former chief of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit for the New York County District Attorney, where, for 25 years, she investigated and supervised thousands of cases involving sexual assault and harassment, stalking, workplace violence, internet predators, unlawful surveillance and child pornography. Her advice can help schools and businesses improve safety and reduce the incidence of sexual misconduct in the workplace and on campus. Her assistance will improve the quality of sexual misconduct investigations, which will serve to reduce the number of expensive and reputation-damaging lawsuits that get filed and mitigate the damages in those that do get filed.

Under Ms. Friel’s direction, T&M’s Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations division can:

Thoroughly analyze existing training programs, policies and procedures and provide recommendations for improvement with the goal of achieving not just compliance with the law, but a “gold standard” of diligence;
Develop and enhance training, education and prevention programs, customized, as appropriate, for management, administrators, faculty, students, parents, children, camp staff, others who supervise children, athletic organizations, first responders, clergy, health, human resource and security professionals;
Evaluate past responses to incidents or claims of sexual misconduct and provide recommendations for improved handling of responses in the future;
Engage in sensitive and skilled investigations of sexual misconduct claims, including interviews, gathering of evidence and preparation for adjudication;
Provide expert advice to personnel and their attorneys who are handling cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct, particularly in the areas of potential criminal behavior that may have occurred and the workings of the criminal justice process;
Offer specific and integrated steps to enhance reporting and response, improve safety, reduce financial liabilities, avoid scandal and rebuild trust with institutional stakeholders and with the public; and
Serve as an outside monitor to ensure an organization’s on-going compliance with its own protocols and procedures and efforts to reduce sexual misconduct.

The Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations division is supported by T&M’s comprehensive portfolio of security and investigative capabilities, including a state-of-the-art Command Center to provide 24/7 intake of incident reports and provide appropriate follow-up and response; a sophisticated Data Forensics division with in-house facilities to capture, recover and analyze data on cell phones, computers and other digital devices; a Corporate Investigations division to provide thorough and reliable background information; and an expert Private Investigations division to provide related investigative expertise as required.

On-Call Program - Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations

T&M’s unique On-Call Program makes the full range of our security services and management expertise available to clients on an as-needed basis at preferential rates under a monthly access agreement. In addition to Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations, the On-Call Program is also available for our other services: