Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Resources
Sexual harassment, assault, and violence have no place in our community. If you are in need of assistance, there are resources available for you on campus, and we will also help you to access off-campus resources. Use the accordion menu and links below to find on-campus and off-campus resources, report an incident, or file a complaint.
Maine Maritime Academy is committed to maintaining a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff. Sexual harassment, assault, and violence have no place in our community.
If you are in need of assistance, there are resources available for you on campus.
MMA’s Title IX Coordinator, Heidi Pugliese, can help you:
- learn about and understand your options
- file an official complaint
- request medical attention or to have evidence collected at the hospital
- request supportive measures such as a no-contact order, changing classes or housing
Heidi Pugliese
Title IX Coordinator
titleix@mma.edu
(207) 326-2659
If you need immediate assistance, please contact MMA’s Campus Safety office by email at campussafety@mma.edu or by phone at (207) 326-2479. If would like a callback from the Title IX Coordinator, please provide a number for a callback.
If you are in an emergency situation, please call 911.
Title IX Committee
MMA’s Title IX Committee is comprised of students, faculty, and staff from across campus.
Faculty and staff representation includes: Heidi Pugliese, Title IX Coordinator; Kelly Gualtieri, Dana Polojärvi, Deidra Davis, John Cashman, Stephen Peed, Tricia Carver, Christine Skwiot, Pamela Dewell.
Counseling Services
Monday through Friday | 8 AM to 4 p.m.
We are offering face-to-face & remote counseling and walk-in appointments are also available.
If you have questions regarding MMA’s Counseling Services or would like to make an appointment, please contact Eve Toomey, MSW, LCSW, Counselor, and Prevention Education Coordinator, at (207) 326-2644. You may also email counseling@mma.edu.
Hancock County Sheriff’s Department
If you would like to request assistance from the Hancock County Sheriff’s department but would like MMA staff to help you coordinate contact or support you through that process, please contact the Title IX Coordinator.
The Title IX Coordinator will help you contact the HCSD so they can send an officer to initiate a report.
If you would like to seek assistance outside of Maine Maritime Academy, there are several resources in the local community to support your needs.
Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault
The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MeCASA) provides a 24-hour statewide sexual assault crisis and support line. If you would like to:
- learn about options
- access a victim’s advocate or counselor
- request medical attention or to have evidence collected at the hospital
- file a police report
Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault: 1-800-871-7741
MeCASA also offers online chat support with patient advocates throughout the week, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., at https://www.mecasa.org/online-help.html
Hancock County Sheriff’s Office
To contact the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, please call (207) 667-8866.
50 State Street, Suite 10
Ellsworth Maine 04605
If you are in an emergency situation, please call 911.
Regional Hospitals
To seek immediate medical attention, please go directly to the hospital. In our region, all Northern Light hospitals (including in Bangor, Blue Hill, and Ellsworth), Waldo County General Hospital, and St. Joseph Hospital have Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs). Each SANE nurse is a trained staff member who can collect evidence; call in advance to assure that a SANE nurse is on duty.
Eastern Maine Medical Center
Bangor, Maine
(207) 973-8000
Northern Light Blue Hill
Blue Hill, Maine
(207) 374-3911
Northern Light Ellsworth
Ellsworth, Maine
(207) 664-5311
St. Joseph Hospital
Bangor, Maine
(207) 907-1000
Waldo County General Hospital
Belfast, Maine
(207) 505-4123
Next Step Shelter
If you are the victim of domestic violence or stalking and need to request confidential assistance, contact the Next Step Shelter in Ellsworth.
1-800-315-5579
https://www.nextstepdvproject.org
AMHC Sexual Assault Services:
Contact AMHC to ask questions, gather information, or just talk with an advocate about what you are experiencing. All services are free and confidential for students, faculty, and staff. To make an appointment call AMHC’s Call Center at 1-800-244-6431.
Please be aware that AMHC is not affiliated with Maine Maritime Academy. Speaking with the advocate at AMHC is a confidential, off-campus interaction. If you wish to report an incident of sexual misconduct to Maine Maritime Academy, please contact MMA’s Title IX Coordinator at titleix@mma.edu.
Please review this document to learn about the different options available for reporting and their respective processes.
The intent of this form is not to collect your information if you wish to remain anonymous, but to gather information about incidents at MMA. This form does not collect any identifying information unless directly provided in the form by the submitter, including identifying computer information such as IP address.
This form does not require the submitter to be on the Maine Maritime Academy network.
Reports made through this form are available only to the Title IX Coordinator and Investigators. If you choose to remain anonymous, the information in the report will be added to statistics and data collection and, if the incident is considered a “reportable” crime under the Clery Act, will be included in the Academy’s crime statistics.
If you provide contact information, the Title IX Coordinator will contact you regarding resources and options.
The Title IX Coordinator and Investigators are committed to honoring your privacy in this process and only sharing information on a need-to-know basis.
Who else can access this report and will it be shown to the person who is accused of the misconduct?
To file a formal complaint with MMA’s Title IX Coordinator, contact them at titleix@mma.edu or 207-326-2659.
Maine Maritime Academy reports statistics of sexual assault in our annual Clery Report. However, these reports are limited by federal regulation to specific geographical locations on campus. Since Maine Maritime Academy’s Honor Code and policies cover incidents beyond these geographical boundaries, we share this information in our annual reporting in addition to the Clery Report. Additional information, shared as part of MMA’s Reporting Transparency Initiative, can be found at the link below.
Maine Maritime Academy is committed to maintaining a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff. Sexual harassment, assault, and violence have no place in our community.
Title IX Policies and Procedures
How to File a Title IX Complaint
To file an official complaint, please contact MMA’s Title IX Coordinator or Investigator as soon as you are able:
Please also contact Campus Safety at 207-326-2479 and review Policy 201.2 regarding MMA’s Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedures if you are able.
How to request confidential assistance after a sexual assault without making a Title IX Complaint
If you do not wish to make an official Title IX Complaint, but would like to request confidential assistance, please:
- Contact Counseling Services. We are offering remote and in-person counseling at this time. If you have questions regarding MMA’s Counseling Services or would like to make an appointment, please contact Eve Toomey, MSW, LCSW, Counselor, and Prevention Education Coordinator, at (207) 326-2644. You may also email counseling@mma.edu. If you would prefer to meet with a female counselor, please indicate so when contacting counseling services.
- Contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MeCASA). MeCASA is organized to end sexual violence and to support high-quality sexual violence prevention and response in Maine communities. Free, private support is available 24/7.If you need help, call 1-800-871-7741.
Amnesty Statement:
Maine Maritime Academy strongly encourages students who believe that they are victims of or witnesses to sexual misconduct to immediately report that misconduct.
Students who report sexual misconduct will not be disciplined for alcohol violations that are disclosed by their report or disclosed during a related follow-up and are related to the events surrounding the reported misconduct.
Policies & Procedures
Policy 201.1: Procedure on Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Affirmative Action Complaints
This policy establishes a procedure for receiving and investigating student, employee, applicant and any other complaints regarding discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and affirmative action.
Read Policy
Policy 201.2: Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedure
This policy defines and proscribes sexual harassment and explains how complaints will be handled by the Academy under Title IX regulations.
Read Policy
POLICY 604: Student Sexual Misconduct and Assault, Stalking, and Relationship Violence
This policy defines and proscribes non-consensual sexual activities, stalking, dating violence, and domestic violence not governed by Title IX.
Read Policy
Training of Title IX Coordinator and Investigator
MMA’s Title IX Coordinator and Investigator complete annual trainings to ensure the Academy’s compliance with federal regulations and best practices.
Title IX Audit Report
In Fall 2020, Maine Maritime Academy engaged the services of an outside legal firm to conduct an audit of our policies, procedures, and practices regarding Academy responses to allegations of sexual assault and to conduct a review of recent cases. Allen Kropp, an attorney at Drummond Woodsum who formerly worked for the federal Office of Civil Rights and has extensive expertise in Title IX compliance, conducted the audit.
To be clear, this is a legal review of our Title IX policies, procedures, and practices to determine if we are complying with the law. A separate Culture of Respect Collective (CRC) was launched to explore our current climate, assess where we are, and identify areas for improvement. This two-year NASPA sponsored Culture of Respect Collective guides MMA through a comprehensive audit of our campus culture and develops a plan to address systemic issues of inequity at MMA.
While the audit report does not directly address culture, it contains insightful observations and provides clear recommendations. The Title IX Advisory Committee and the administration are reviewing the recommendations and will develop a timeline for implementation.
MMA’s Title IX Committee is comprised of students, faculty, and staff from across campus.
Faculty and staff representation includes: Heidi Pugliese, Title IX Coordinator; Kelly Gualtieri, Taylor Martin, Dana Polojärvi, Deidra Davis, John Cashman, Stephen Peed, Nicholas Starbird, Tricia Carver, Christine Skwiot, Travis Wallace, Pamela Dewell
Student representation includes: Roxanna MacGregor and Miles Stanton
Maine Maritime Academy joined NASPA’s Culture of Respect Collective last year. Since then, the collective has guided our Culture of Respect planning group in an assessment of the Academy’s campus culture and sexual misconduct prevention and response procedures. The planning group has finalized priorities and action steps directly related to the assessment. We are pleased to be making progress on this critical work and look forward to bringing opportunities to faculty, staff, and students in the coming months.
To read recent updates:
2021 Program Announcement
In 2020, Maine Maritime Academy applied for and was accepted into NASPA’s Culture of Respect Collective. This ambitious two-year program is dedicated to ending sexual misconduct on college campuses. As the first maritime college to participate in this innovative program, we are proud to join a cohort of institutions around the country that are seeking to create meaningful change.
The Culture of Respect program will guide a committee of MMA students, faculty, and staff through a self-assessment process designed to create a positive shift in our campus culture. The committee will undertake this work as part of a national cohort. “Each diverse cohort relies on an expert-developed public health framework, cross-campus collaboration, and peer-led learning to make meaningful programmatic and policy changes. Participating institutions receive strategic support and technical assistance throughout the process, as well as detailed documentation of campus-initiated changes that support survivors, prevent sexual violence, and communicate that violence is unacceptable.
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