Come to my house! What do you need?
If my friend disclosed to me, I think I would want to know whether she felt safe at that moment. I'd ask what she needed from me, how I could help in terms of talking, getting off-campus, or, whatever, really. Depending on how she was, if she needed medical services, I feel like I would offer a lot of supports and accommodations. I would be like, "Come to my house! What do you need?" And probably after a while, we would talk about whether she wanted to disclose to other people and whether I could be a support person through that process. If someone came and disclosed to me, I would assume that maybe they wanted me to be a part of the process. So I would try to help navigate it. As a friend, I would look up the sexual assault policy, and I would even call the counsellor and pretend I'm her. I would just be one hundred percent on her side to figure out how we could do it.
Recommendations
-
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.
-
Offer interpretation services to victims/survivors and respondents who are more comfortable communicating in a language other than English and make it known to students that this service is available.
-
Offer versions of policies presented in plain language and translated into languages commonly prefered by students. Ensure that these documents meet accessibility standards that consider the needs of students with disabilities and diverse learning styles.