How to support students who disclose to you

Often, the first person a victim tells is not the police or the ER doc; rather, it is a trusted friend or mentor. How that person reacts makes a huge difference in terms of the survivor's recovery. Do not doubt them, minimize their concerns, or panic. Instead, listen carefully, express empathy and support, believe them, let them know that it is not their fault, and encourage them to seek medical care and to make a report as per your institution's guidelines.

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Being an Ally and Advocate

• Concerned Persons Sexual Assault Response Guide  Your support can make a big difference to someone who has been sexually assaulted. Learn how to respond in an empathetic manner and take care of yourself. http://www.macalester.edu/sexualassault/pdfs/Concerned_Persons_Sexual_Assault_Response_Guide.pdf
  Tags: Reporting  Response 
• Culturally Competent Service Provision to LGBT Survivors  We have an ethical mandate to serve all survivors of sexual violence. Yet LGBT survivors have often been excluded from our work. http://new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/AR_LGBTSexualViolence.pdf
  Tags: LGBTQ  Response 
• If He is Raped: A Guidebook for Parents, Partners, Spouses, and Friends  Rape can happen to anyone, including males. Everyone needs to know what to do and what not to do if a loved one, friend, or even a male stranger tells you he has been raped. http://www.justdetention.org/pdf/ifheisraped.pdf
  Tags: Masculinity  Response  Gender 
• PAVE: Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment  A multi-chapter nonprofit organization that uses education and action to shatter the silence of sexual violence through targeted social, educational and legislative tactics. Start a chapter at your campus! http://pavingtheway.net/wordpress/
  Tags: Coalition  Community Mobilization 
• Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates, Central Michigan University  Sexual Aggression Services and SAPA provide education, programming, advocacy and support for domestic and sexual violence prevention. http://www.cmich.edu/about/leadership/office_provost/dean/SAPA/SexualAggression/Pages/default.aspx
  Tags: Campus   Best Practices 
• Start by Believing  This is a public awareness campaign designed to change the way we respond to rape and sexual assault in our communities. When someone comes to you . . . what will your reaction be? http://www.startbybelieving.org/Default.aspx
  Tags: Media  Response  Campaign  Framing the Issue 

Understanding Sexual Violence

• American Perceptions of Sexual Violence: A FrameWorks Research Report  Public perceptions of sexual violence The report and flash presentation offered below examine both the expert discourse on sexual violence and how Americans talk and think about the topic. http://frameworksinstitute.org/sexualviolence.html
  Tags: Framing the Issue  Research  Media 
• MDH Sexual Violence Prevention Network  The Sexual Violence Prevention Network (SVPN) is a network of people interested in or working in the field of sexual violence prevention. Anyone is welcome to join our mailing list or attend SVPN meetings. http://www.health.state.mn.us/injury/topic/svp/implement/network/index.cfm
  Tags: Coalition  Prevention 
• National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  This 2010 report shows that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are widespread and a major public health problem in the United States. http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/NISVS/index.html
  Tags: Intimate Partner Violence  Research  Sexual Harassment 
• Repeat Rape and Multiple Offending Among Undetected College Rapists (PDF: 80KB/12 pages)  In a survey of 1882 men on college campuses, 120 men self-reported acts which met legal definitions of rape or attempted rape. The repeat rapists averaged 5.8 rapes each. http://www.wcsap.org/sites/www.wcsap.org/files/uploads/webinars/SV%20on%20Campus/Repeat%20Rape.pdf
  Tags: Engaging Men  Research  Masculinity  Perpetration  Campus  
• Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence, American College Health Assn.  ACHA developed this toolkit to provide facts, ideas, strategies, conversation starters, and resources to everyone on campus who cares about preventing sexual violence. http://www.acha.org/sexualviolence/
  Tags: Toolkit  Prevention  Best Practices 
• Understanding Sexual Violence Fact Sheet  A 2 page fact sheet about sexual violence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (PDF: 203KB, 2 pages) http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/SV_Factsheet-a.pdf
  Tags: Framing the Issue  Research 

Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Portal

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For questions about this page, please contact the Injury and Violence Prevention program at:health.injuryprevention@state.mn.us

See also Health Promotion and Chronic Disease

Alcohol Facilitation Art and Theater Athletes Best Practices Bystander Intervention Campaign Campus Case Studies Coalition Community Mobilization Consent Curricula Engaging Men Environmental Change Family Framing the Issue Gender Institutional Responsibilities Intimate Partner Violence LGBTQ Laws, Policy and Legislation Masculinity Media Perpetration Prevention Public Health Rape Culture Rape Myths Rape and Sexual Violence Crisis Center Reporting Research Response Security Self-Defense Sexual Harassment Social Norms Change Students of Color Theory Toolkit Webinars