Perspectives on responses to sexual assault

SMU has so many international students, and if we’re thinking of the Middle East where a lot of people come with language barriers, is there the option of speaking to someone who is not Canadian…

Participant 1: Some people would still be hesitant to opening up to someone from their country, just in case they feel like they would judge them more, especially in the Middle East. Participant 2: I…

I believe that they [a person supporting a survivor] should definitely just have empathy first and foremost. But I also believe they should be able to be really understanding. I don’t know if the word…

I feel like many people [trying to support a survivor] would just jump to their own experiences thinking that would help the other one. But I feel like sometimes, that’s not needed because it should…

Just to make it clear, when I say “biased,” I’m talking about gender-biased. So […] not to judge the other person from their gender, because some of us have some experiences, and we can actually…

Some victims want to protect their anonymity. They are afraid of going to the police or confessing to anyone; because it would expose shame, or self-hate, or self-loathe; because it would be hurt their value,…

If it’s someone you care about, someone you know, you should approach them the same way: from the heart. You should just care about them and try to be there for them, because that’s all…

Protecting anonymity and privacy is very important. Keeping privacy protects the victim from the emotional pressure that he/she could experience.

I think that the best quality that a friend could have is to listen to what the person [who has experienced sexual assault] has to say. I think listening is a big part of it,…

I believe that you have to have compassion in a situation like this, where it’s not about enforcement of what you think is right, or what you think should be done. It’s just understanding the…