As a leading organizer against sexual assault on your campus, you will, invariably, become the point person for students to first divulge their assault.  It is imperative that your approach be inclusive, supportive, and informed.  I am writing this from the perspective of an organizer who, during my experiences with anti-rape work, was rather impotent in my efforts to support survivors.  The most I provided was hugs and promises that I would work to reform the campus code of conduct so that their rapists would be brought to justice.  Luckily, as a social justice activist I was fairly aware of some of the more basic stereotypes that discourage and harm victims who are first telling of their assault.  But I was nonetheless unaware of all of these, nor was I knowledgeable about the legal and medical necessities that need to be available to survivors.  Please keep in mind that I am neither a trained counselor, nor police officer, nor lawyer, and this is only a very brief, very basic outline of some recommendations for student organizers with regard to survivor sensitivity.

First thing is first: be wary of your own assumptions about rape.  We are trained in a rape culture, an integral part of which is victim blaming.  Some stereotypes illuminate this.  With regard to women victims, responses like: ‘she asked for it by wearing provocative clothing or teasing the men,’ or ‘she was the one who was at a party and drinking, so she should have expected it’ are clear reflections of victim blaming.   That the victims are blamed for the crime is both ridiculous and illogical, but unfortunately this is what we are raised believing.

Here are some broad tips for supporting victims as they tell you of their assault, from crimevictimservices.org (edited slightly for inclusivity):

1. Do…be a good listener
   Don’t…do all of the talking
2. Do…assist in getting the help the survivor needs and wants (providing phone numbers, information, transportation, etc.)
   Don’t…give the survivor advice or make decisions for the survivor
3. Do…help the survivor overcome feelings of guilt for not fighting back (by explaining that fear often inhibits people and that cooperation does not mean consent)
   Don’t…tell the survivor what you would have done in their situation …ask why they didn’t scream, fight, or run
4. Do…minimize the number of times that the survivor must tell their story of the assault
   Don’t…prevent the survivor from talking about the assault if they want to
5. Do…assure the survivor that the assault was not their fault, that no one asks to be assaulted, and that no one deserves to be violated.
   Don’t…ask why they were walking alone at night or why they went out …ask the survivor if they did anything to “lead the perpetrator on”
6. Do…help the survivor know that this experience will disrupt their life, but they will recover
   Don’t…encourage the survivor to “just forget about it”
7. Do…express support both verbally and nonverbally
   Don’t…stare or invade the survivor’s personal space

(Adapted from “What to Say and What Not to Say to a Survivor of Sexual Assault.” UM Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, Ann Arbor, MI.)

Additionally, remember that the goal is first and foremost to support the victim.  Though prosecution of rape perpetrators is necessary, this process can often be traumatic and damaging to victims (due to the insensitivity of our general culture and legal and police authorities).  So don’t pressure survivors to divulge their stories (for instance, at Take Back the Night or other awareness events, to the administration, etc) if they don’t seem inclined to.

Once you have identified and changed of some of the more basic stereotypes related to victim blaming, there is the question of inclusivity.  Though the majority of (reported) survivors are women, there are also male survivors, queer survivors, trans survivors, disabled survivors, and survivors of color—each of these individuals will face different obstacles related to race, disability, etc, and it is important to be aware of assumptions that can further isolate these individuals as they reveal their assault to you.  For more details on this, please see SAFER’s website for the intersectionality section, in which each article contains some examples of victim insensitivity related to class, gender, etc.

Third, and importantly, you will want to be very familiar with the medical, university-wide, and legal options available to victims.  For legal prosecution of perpetrators, a rape kit will be necessary.  If this is not available at the university you will want to be aware of the closest hospitals that provide emergency rape kits, and you will also want to ensure that these are victim-friendly.  Additionally, many survivors face further trauma when reporting to authorities, particularly police and university administrators.  You should offer to accompany the survivor if s/he chooses to report the rape to these authorities.  Ensuring that these authorities (particularly university administrators) are sensitive to rape victims, aware of stereotypes and victim blaming, and supportive of prosecution of perpetrators is also important.
Hopefully this brief article illuminated some of the outlines for ensuring victim sensitivity.  In the future, at SAFER we hope to be able to provide services for organizers seeking legal and medical counseling for survivors on their campuses.

References:

http://www.crimevictimservices.org/page/sexassault/