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 U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey, the country's largest and most reliable crime study, found that there were 248,300 reported sexual assaults in 2007 (the most recent data available)
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 95% of the assaults that occur on college campuses won’t be reported to campus officials or to the police
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
In 2009 alone, college campuses reported nearly 3,300 “forcible offenses” as defined by the Clery Act
Of more than 400 discrimination suits and settlements that have been reported to the Federal Government so far this year, nearly 20% are sexual harassment claims and 37% involve the food service industry
According to the AFL-CIO, an estimated 36,500 rapes and sexual assaults occur annually in the workplace

These statistics suggest that institutions in all walks of life need to provide better education and training regarding the laws governing sexual misconduct and take additional steps to prevent these incidents and mitigate the risks inherent in the consequences.

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;”
Develop and enhance training, education and prevention programs, customized, as appropriate, for management, administrators, faculty, students, 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 a company’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 incidents 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 & Risk Management division to provide thorough and reliable background information; and an expert Private Investigations division to provide related investigative expertise as required.

With so much at stake, companies and institutions need to provide improved education and training regarding the laws governing sexual harassment and assault and to create an environment conducive to lowering the incidence of such activity. They need to better educate and train their personnel to respond properly when incidents are reported in order to mitigate the risks that could result from a mishandled response. And they must handle allegations of sexual misconduct promptly, sensitively and, above all, with expertise, the expertise that T&M’s Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations division can provide. Anything less than a “gold standard” of diligence puts at risk the safety, reputation and financial security of the people and institutions involved.

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: