A professional can help to the best of their potential
I think one of the things you’d need to think about before giving advice [to a friend who had experienced sexual assault] is to make sure you do not minimize emotions. For example, don’t make it feel like they're overreacting [...]. If they panic about it, don’t be like, ‘’Oh, calm down,’’ because it minimizes their emotions. I think it’s best to, even if they just want someone to talk to, to just listen and obviously, don’t spread that information. I think it’s up to them if they want advice or not, but if they ask for help, I would say, ‘’You were taken advantage of and that’s okay, here are as many resources as you possibly can find to make sure this doesn’t happen to you or possibly to anyone else ever again.’’ I would advise them to seek professional advice, because I’m also just a student and there’s not much I can do. [...] So, I would advise them to go to a professional that can help them to the best of their potential.
Recommendations
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Sign on with a service such as KeepMe.Safe, which connects students with mental health professionals from cultures around the world and promote this service as part of university SV/SA service provision.
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Use approaches that are trauma informed and survivor-centred.
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Provide long-term support to victims/survivors through university services and/or through referals to external community-based agencies.
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Present learning materials in a way that is helpful to a friend supporting a victim/survivor.
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Offer self-defense training free of charge on campus.