Perspectives on responses to sexual assault

Participant 1: I would expect the counsellor to be empathetic, just like I said earlier too – be able to connect and not judge at all. ‘Cause, when you are asking questions that may be…

[If a friend confided in me that they were sexually assaulted], I will be happy that someone trusts me to confide in me something very important and private, so I would be careful. And what…

I think my go to reaction [if my friend was sexually assaulted] would be [laughing] “Go and say something!” But um I would ask myself […] the kind of psychological state that person was in…

Participant 1: Oh, if it’s my business. […] It’s like, if I’m in the right place to help, if I am the right person to talk to […] and if the person is sure [pause]…

[If I were involved in a sexual assault case, I would ask that university staff] treat me as a human being. Treat me as a reasonable human being, as I come. See me as a…

Participant 1: I feel like the policy, and the subject of sexual assault, makes people uncomfortable. I feel like it should be presented more comfortably so that people can talk about it. Facilitator: What ways…

I think there should be a representative for each culture at the Mount, […] so that if you are speaking to someone, the person understands where you are coming from and the person can actually…

[In terms of] what Participant 2 just said about this [discussion about the sexual assault policy] being in class – what about some people in that class who may be going through that trauma? And…

The person [who I would want supporting me following a sexual assault] should have knowledge about my background, so they can understand what I am going through. I don’t want someone who is putting words…

I feel […] like trans people might have different experiences […] with sexual assault than a cis person might. Um, so, like, having someone [provide support] that would be knowledgeable or experienced abou the trans…