Perspectives on responses to sexual assault

Participant 1: It would make a world of difference for a lot of people to hear, “I support whatever choice you make; these are your choices, it’s okay to do that.” Not, “you should,” necessarily,…

I think you need to have big ears and a big heart. Its about listening, like, active listening, not just listening – letting that person tell their story the way that they want to. Um,…

I want to make her feel as comfortable as she can in doing whatever she feels like she needs to do. I don’t know, because you can’t put yourself in that other person’s shoes, so…

Participant 1: The support person should be honest about what they can provide and what they can’t provide. Maybe they are being triggered themselves and really can’t be there, and as difficult as that would…

I went to somebody who was a former professor of mine, who told me that if I reported, I would lose my degree, and I’d get kicked out. I felt swayed from coming forward and…

I would think whatever your role is at Saint Mary’s […] there is ongoing professional development. Your role that you perform generally at the university – you should have some orientation or discussion or something…

Just make sure that they don’t rush them, because, like, it may have taken them awhile to come forward, but that doesn’t mean the second they come forward that they have to do this and…

Artist’s description: “All” represents collaboration and community. Between staying afloat and being protected, I wanted this work to reflect conversations held throughout the workshop. By: Dawson Berze-Butts

I am wondering if a full medical work up would be available if that is what the survivor wanted. Like, in the event – if they chose to do it legally later on, like, would…

Artist’s description: My piece represents the importance of empathy, diversity, perspective-taking, and collaboration. I think when it comes to working through policies we need to surrender to the process and for me, that is messy,…