Victims of sexual violence are powerless over being assaulted however; part of gaining power back is taking control of the here and now. You can empower yourself to make informed choices about next steps.
It takes courage to tell your story; talking to someone you trust is a great first step.
If I decide to tell someone, who is going to find out?
The employees of the university abide by confidentiality, meaning when we respond to a crisis such as sexual assault we do not disclose your name or the name of the accused. However, because of the criminal and crisis elements of sexual assault there are times when helpers responding to you must communicate with one another and their immediate supervisor to provide you with the best possible care. We refer to this way of helping as “reporting up not out”. If you have been sexually assaulted by a stranger the university will take steps to protect the rest of the campus community by issuing safety bulletins and communicating with students, staff and faculty through our safety and security department. These alerts will not include identifying information about you.
What if I tell my RA what happened?
Your RA has sexual assault response training to help you and hear your story without judgment. Your RA will inform you of your options and respect the choices you make about your care. Your RA will be working with an RLC to ensure that they have adequate support to help you in the best way they can.
But I Live Off Campus…
Sexual assault can occur on campus or off campus, by a stranger or by somebody we know, by a member of the university community or not. Regardless of the circumstances you are entitled to all of the services offered to StFX students.
Critical Incident Stress Management
Whenever a crisis happens in the StFX community the CISM team responds. CISM members include Counselors, Nurses, Security, Directors, Residence Life and others. In the case of a highly sensitive and personal crisis such as a sexual assault CISM’s goal is to work behind the scenes to ensure that all parties have access to support from the victim of the crime to the helpers on scene. Crisis is known to impact not only the victim but all of those involved directly and sometimes indirectly. This may include RAs, HDs, First Responders, Security, and others. Rest assured that all of those who came to your aid will be offered help to cope with the traumatic stress they encountered.
