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

["Storm, Rachel Lauren" <>]

Hi Adia,

 

We’ve approached these types of initiatives with some caution, often encouraging units to be mindful of language here. As we know, sexual assault leaves survivors feeling powerless and the most important part of supporting survivors is ensuring they are empowered to make their own informed decisions about what happens next. Certainly, initiatives that seek to inform survivors of their rights and options aim to do exactly that (so marketing is important), but often these kinds of marketing campaigns can sound like a list of requirements (“Don’t take a shower! Do report to police! Do go to the hospital!”) when a list of recommendations and an explanation of their value to survivors and supportive resources is much more appropriate when it comes in language that presents these as “options,” “recommendations,” or “rights.” So some suggestions for us as we envision similar campaigns could be:

 

·         Make sure campaigns don’t read as a list of to do’s for survivors, but of options/rights/resources that aim to give empower survivors to make informed decisions about what to do next (that respect that survivors have the right to decide to not use these options right away or at all).

·         Emphasize what your university offers in terms of support and resources/accommodations during their pursuit of these options. (Ex. “A medical examination can help survivors to access whether they have sustained any injuries, as well as, STI contraction or pregnancy. You can make an appointment at our student health center and can call (#) to have a victim’s advocate accompany you to your appointment.”)

·         List confidential resources on your campus clearly so students know where they can go to learn more about their options.

·         Refrain from including “after sexual assault” rights and resources campaigns with “risk-reduction” suggestions to prevent SA (walk in groups, etc.) as these often reproduce victim-blaming. It would seem important to keep prevention campaigns on the whole (especially given best practices are bystander-focused) as somewhat separate considering the audience for the marketing campaign about rights is survivors themselves.

 

I know I’m absolutely preaching to our collective choir here so I’m not sure how particularly useful this list is, but these are some recommendations we often give. I’m certainly curious to hear from others. Our outreach here (separate from our supportive counseling) is more often in the form of our mandatory training program and guest presentations in classes on campus, as they allow more time for questions/dialogue.

 

Warmly,

Rachel

___________________________________________________________

Rachel Lauren Storm, M.Ed., Assistant Director (pronouns: she, her, hers)
Women’s Resources Center | Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations
703 South Wright St. MC-302, 2nd floor, Champaign, Illinois 61820
t.  217.333.3137 |  e.   | w. www.go.illinois.edu/wrc
Give to the Women's Resources Center!: http://bit.ly/i3fQK8

 

Email is not a confidential form of communication. If you need assistance related to sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking, please call the Women’s Resources Center at 217-333-3137 M-Fri 9am-5pm to make an appointment. If you need support outside of these hours please call the RACES Hotline (24/7 for sexual assault issues) at (217)384-4444or the Emergency Dean at (217) 333-0050.

 

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From: Adia Daniels Cuthbertson [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 2:01 PM
To:
Subject: Marketing Ideas

 

Hello all,

 

We are looking to do some marketing around ‘what to do after a sexual assault,’ particularly the option of having a forensic medical examination. We are finding that some of our survivors are not aware of the exam at all and/or not aware of the timeframe for which the exam should be conducted. Can anyone share any marketing ideas (print material or other passive programming) that have worked on your campuses? I appreciate the help!

 

Adia

 

Adia D. Cuthbertson, M.S.Ed.

Senior Coordinator, Student Victim Assistance

Georgia State University

75 Piedmont Avenue NE, Suite 239 I Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone:  404.413.1965 (On-call advocate available after hours)

Fax:  404.413.1653 I Email: