You have to be brave to be one of the survivors
Participant 1: I think I agree with most of the other participants’ points, that you need to listen and you have to choose the right wording because they are vulnerable and they are [unclear]. Because, it’s like, those kind of actions really affect your mental health, and you have to be brave to be one of the survivors. Also, [unclear] is that I tend to be very protective of my friends, like, I’ll do anything for them. So, I’ll make sure that they are not alone and [...] I’ll be supportive of them because being alone in that state of mind is very dangerous. [...]
Participant 2: If I were the one to give any advice for someone who suffered from sexual assault, I’ll try not to force her to do anything but to calm her down first and make sure I’ll be there to listen to her and help her as necessary. Because I need to consider what I say to the victim carefully, because, you know, due to the butterfly effect, one small advice or word leads to bigger consequences. [...] Experiencing such a terrible situation may bring [...] mental illness, or [...] an anxiety disorder, or PTSD - post-trauma stress disorder, or something like that. So, it will be so dangerous for them to take on too much about that; they have to carry a lot by themselves so, I think in that situation, I wouldn’t say anything until I fully know the situation.
Recommendations
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Use open-ended questions and collaborative communication when supporting a victim/survivor.
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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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Make supports available to members of the university community who receive disclosures, or raise awareness of these supports within university communities where they already exist.