Due to the University administrative recess, UCI CARE will be closed beginning Monday, December 21st and will reopen Monday, January 4th. During this period of closure, we encourage community members to access the below local and national resources for support. 

Orange County Resources:

• UCI Counseling Center: access 24/7 crisis counseling via phone at (949) 824-6457.

• Waymakers: 24/7 hotline at (949) 831-9110 (South OC) or (714) 957-2737 (North OC) that provides support, resources, and referrals for survivors of sexual assault.  

• Human Options: 24/7 hotline at (877) 854-3594 that provides support, resources, and referrals for individuals experiencing relationship violence.

• Laura’s House: 24/7 hotline at (949) 498-1511 that provides support, resources, and referrals for individuals experiencing relationship violence.

• UCI Police Department: available to take crime reports 24/7 via phone at (949) 824-5223.

National Resources:

• National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN):  be connected to a trained staff member 24/7 via phone at (800) 656-4673 or chat at hotline.rainn.org. Provides support, resources and referrals for survivors of sexual assault.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: be connected to a trained staff member 24/7 via phone at (800) 799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org. Provides support, resources, and referrals for individuals experiencing relationship violence or stalking.

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: be connected to a trained crisis counselor 24/7 via phone at (800) 273-8255 or chat at suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Provide support, resources, and referrals for individuals in distress.

• Crisis Text Line: be connected to a trained crisis counselor 24/7 by texting “HOME” to 741-741 or using Facebook Messenger.

If there is an immediate threat to your or someone else’s safety, please call 9-1-1 to access emergency services in your area.

Upon reopening on January 4th, remote and virtual CARE services and programs will be available during business hours (Mon-Fri, 8:00AM-5:00PM PST) by phone at (949) 824-7273 or by email at care@uci.edu.

As stated in the UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy (III. E. 1., page 10) and UCI Guidelines on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (D.5.a.), to encourage reporting, the University will not discipline Complainants or witnesses for student conduct policy violations that occur around the time of alleged Prohibited Conduct unless the University determines the violation was egregious. Complainants may be particularly afraid to report Prohibited Conduct when alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants were involved. This amnesty provision applies to alcohol and drug-related student violations. Further, students may be afraid to report Prohibited Conduct if they were at a gathering in violation of current COVID-19 related University health directives or in any other way violated University Executive Directive related to COVID-19. Thus, the UCI Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct (OAISC) will provide amnesty to students who participate as a Complainant or witness in an investigation under the UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy or the UCI Guidelines on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment, and they will not be subject to disciplinary sanctions for violations of University Executive Directives related to COVID-19, at or near the time of the incident, unless OAISC determines the violation was egregious, including, but not limited to, an action that intentionally placed the health and/or safety of other persons at risk (e.g. a student knowingly tested positive for COVID-19 and then exposed others). 

Anti-violence work in all of is forms requires us to be anti-racist and dismantle systems that perpetuate violence.  In addition to the prevention of power-based personal violence, the CARE office is committed to the elimination of racism, sexism and all other systems of oppression.

To our black UCI community, we see you and hear you.  Your lives matter.  We remain committed to building awareness, being accountable and working to change flawed systems.  UCI CARE will continue to create spaces and resources to promote healing and encourage community care while we do this work. 

We know this is a difficult, scary and traumatic time.  To all students, staff and faculty at UCI who are hurting, we are here for you.

CARE  care@uci.edu  (949) 824-7273   care.uci.edu  

Counseling Center  (949) 824-6457   counselng.uci.edu

Staff & Faculty Support Resources  (949) 824-5208  nshekara@uci.edu

To help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus), UCI CARE staff will be working from remote locations. UCI CARE services will be available remotely until further notice.  During normal business hours (Monday-Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM) virtual services are available by calling the CARE office at (949) 824-7273 or by email at care@uci.edu. 

After hours, you can find information about resources, options or programs online at www.care.uci.edu or http://soinfo.uci.edu; by phone at (949) 824-7273; or, through social media on Facebook or Instagram (ucicare).   Additionally, the following resources are available to provide assistance:

1) UCI Counseling Center - (949) 824-6457. The Counseling Center is offers 24 hour access to counselors by phone. www.counseling.uci.edu

2) Waymakers' 24-hour hotline at (949) 831-9110. Waymakers is a local organization that provides resources & referrals for survivors of sexual assault.

3) Human Options 24-hour hotline at (877) 854-3594. Human Options provides resources, safety and support for individuals experiencing relationship abuse.

4) Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity (OEOD) at (949) 824-5594.  OEOD provides information about filing a criminal complaint or pursuing a complaint through the campus disciplinary process as well as resource information.

5) The UCI Police Department at (949) 824-5223 is available to take reports 24 hours a day.

Please call 911 if there is an immediate threat to your safety or the safety of another person.

Other resources:

Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline (South Orange County) (949) 831-9110

Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline (North Orange County)  (714) 857-2737

Suicide Prevention Hotline (800) 273-8255

How does webcam blackmail work?

A person with an attractive profile on a dating website or social media site will initiate contact and/or a friend request. The scammer will use fake pictures and other social media accounts to look as real as possible. Once added, the scammer will retrieve personal information like contact information, lists of friends and family members, colleagues, classmates and photos through continued conversation and profile data. The conversation will then turn “naughty” and move towards communicating on the webcam. The scammer may be interacting live or they may use a pre-recorded video, which tricks the victim into believing this person is real. They engage in a more “adult” webcam game and throughout this, the scammer will be recording the victim’s actions. After video of the victim is recorded, the video will go black and the scammer reveals themselves and begins the blackmail. Once the scammer is in possession of a private video which involves nudity, masturbation, etc and has access to personal information, they will request the payment of money in exchange for not spreading the video to your contacts or online. Fear is the scammer’s best ally in these situations.

Safety tip: Prior to accepting new friend requests, check your privacy settings to protect personal information and do not engage in sexy webcam video chats with strangers to prevent this from happening to you. If it has happened to you or someone you know, the following recommendations have been reported helpful by other victims of this type of scam:

1) Cut off all contact with the scammers. Terrorizing you is the scammer’s best weapon to get you to pay the amount requested.

2) Do not pay the amount request. This can encourage continued threats and harassment for more money.

3) If possible, delete your accounts and change your phone number. If you cannot delete, do not respond to any messages.

4) Make sure that your account is secure and adjust the privacy settings so that no one can see your friends. You can also contact your Facebook friends and let them know that a hacker will try to make contact with them and to not click on anything they send.

5) Remember that you can always come to the CARE office and speak with an advocate for support.

6) Contact the police department.

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