SEXUAL
ASSAULT
SERVICES
ORGANIZATION

The support and understanding of friends and people in a position of trust can be very helpful to a sexual assault victim. Many victims worry about how their family, friends, and others will react. It is important to let the victim know right away that you care and want to help. There are many specific things you can do.

1. Believe the victim. It takes a great deal of courage to talk about a sexual assault. Many victims remain silent because they feel ashamed and/or they fear that they will not be believed if they tell people what happened to them.

2. Listen to the victim. Listen, but don’t press for details. Let the victim decide how much s/he feels comfortable telling you about the assault and its impact.

3. Encourage the victim to make her/his own decisions and choices. Let her/him decide if she/he wants to notify the police or campus officials, contact SASO, and/or seek medical attention. But do what you can to assist the victim in getting help. For example, you can encourage the victim to get information about these options by calling SASO and speaking with an Advocate.

4. Provide support. Support the victim's decisions about whom to tell and how to proceed.

5. Make it clear that you know the victim was not responsible in any way for the sexual assault, no matter what the circumstances. For example, if the victim was intoxicated, she/he is not to blame. The responsibility for a rape belongs completely to the assailant.

6. Be prepared to listen for as long as the victim needs your support. Understand that the trauma caused by rape does not go away after a short period of time. Victims often have the need to talk about what happened and its impact for a long time after the assault.

7. Encourage the victim to talk to a trained counselor or an advocate at the SASO Team.

8. Encourage the victim to seek medical care. Even if the victim does not have any apparent physical injuries, and even if the assault happened a while ago, encourage her/him to get a medical exam. A health care provider can help the victim deal with the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, as well as provide an evidentiary exam.

9. Protect the victim's privacy. Don’t reveal what the victim has told you or other people. Let her/him decide whom she/he wishes to confide in.