Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Juliette Grimmett" <>]

Hi Nancy - 

This is a good question to pose.  A graduate student in our office has
been working with someone from the counseling center to get a support
group going, however they have not had enough participants to have one. 
I have worked for a university that had an excellent support group, and
was actually in one myself as an undergraduate student at my university
a number of years ago and found it to be a vital component of my own
recovery.    

What I have noticed is that participant numbers are directly linked to
the type and amount of outreach/programs provided to the campus itself. 
If the issue is not really talked about, it is extremely difficult to
get anyone in a group.  This I think is the case at State, as we are
really just starting to talk about these issues in a campus-wide way. 
Of course there are survivors that are not comfortable with being in a
group, but there are also many that would be. 

I wonder if it may be worth doing an intensive advertising and
educational campaign in which you provide training to your counseling
center folks about how helpful this can be (they don't necessarily know
about how to work with survivors), and talk with your first-year student
instructors, RA's, etc., those that have an advisory type role with
students.  Same with student conduct folks and campus police, health
center, etc. as they may have first hand experiences with the survivors.
 

Just some thoughts, and I am really interested in what other folks
think about this as we need help as well!

juliette

"It's so liberating and important for men to understand that they can
actually be friendly to women instead of playing some gender-specific
role, and that women are in most ways the same as they are. I think that
lots of women already know that, but not so many guys do."  -my dad
8/3/07
 
Juliette Grimmett, MPH
Rape Prevention Education Coordinator
NC State University
Women's Center
3120 Talley Student Center
Campus BOX 7306
Raleigh, NC 27695-7306
Office: (919) 513-3232
24 Hour Sexual Violence Hotline: (919)618-RAPE (7273)
Fax: (919) 515-1066
email: 

website: http://www.ncsu.edu/womens_center
 


>>> Nancy Harris 
>>> <>
>>>  12/10/2007 4:23 PM >>>
Greetings!
We would like some feedback from other schools about their experiences

with sexual assault recovery groups. We have had one for many years 
through our Mental Health Service. But we have always had trouble 
recruiting members. Their sense of shame and self-blame is so high. 
Also, with the few we can recruit, they seem exceptionally quiet, 
passive, reticent to talk, though all say the group is helpful to them.

Any words of wisdom about either recruiting members, or about the
groups 
themselves would be helpful. For example, do structured groups work 
better? Are we simply seeing a phase of the recovery process? You can 
write to the list, or if it's more comfortable, write to me directly.

Thanks a lot for your help.

-- 
Nancy Harris, LCSW-C
Associate Director
Mental Health Service
University Health Center
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 314-8106
(301) 314-1390 FAX

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