About Us

Here at the RSVP Center, we are committed to ending interpersonal, including gender- and identity-based violence on our campus through education, prevention and response. We provide direct case management services, host events and programs, give presentations around campus and provide professional development opportunities, consultation services and support student groups such as It’s On Us and S.T.A.R.S.

Additionally, the RSVP Center provides peer education and internship opportunities for students. To learn more about these programs, explore the rest of our page or contact us with any questions at rsvp@missouri.edu.

Purpose

Violence and discrimination touch all areas of life — academic, professional, personal and relational. When trauma occurs, the routines of day-to-day life become unsustainable, and the individual must learn to re-navigate their life.

The Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center exists to eliminate the stigma that wellness through and after acts of violence and discrimination are separate and irreconcilable with realities of daily living.

The RSVP Center is more than a clinical service provider. We exist to connect the campus community with exceptional services that meet the needs clients may have. The RSVP Center also strives to provide culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based services to the students, faculty and staff of the University of Missouri through research efforts, professional development and educational opportunities, and individualized services

Vision

We envision a campus community intolerant of and free from gender- and identity-based violence.

Mission

The Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center aims to promote social change on campus and in the community by serving students, faculty and staff through our education, prevention and response efforts. The RSVP Center is committed to preventing instances of interpersonal, including gender- and identity- based, violence within the campus community. We provide free and confidential support and case management services, a broad range of educational programs, resources, and outreach events with the goal of promoting academic success, personal wellness and overall awareness.

Confidential Services

Our confidential response services are for any individual impacted by bias, discrimination and interpersonal violence. Our confidential status means staff are exempt from the mandated reporting protocol required of university employees. We do not report cases to the Office of Institutional Equity and only report to the police under specific circumstances (suspicion of child abuse, elder abuse, threats to harm yourself or others). This positions us uniquely to provide support to campus community members. *Except when required by court of law or in the case of immediate or imminent threat of harm to self or others.

The new services will expand confidential case management to include all prohibited discrimination, including discrimination and harassment due to:

  • Age
  • Ancestry
  • Color
  • Disability
  • Gender Identity
  • Gender Expression
  • National Origin
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sex/Gender, including
    • Pregnancy Discrimination
    • Sex/Gender Discrimination
    • Dating/Domestic Violence
    • Sexual Assault (Rape, Sodomy, Sexual Assault with an Object, Fondling, Incest, and Statutory Rape)
    • Sexual Harassment (Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment)
    • Stalking
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Veteran Status