Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault

Guest Post by Sarah Broadhurst, Counselor/Advocate of the Safe Office

‘Their time is up,’ professed  Oprah Winfrey during her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, joining a growing sea of voices in recent months speaking out against those who perpetrate sexual and relationship violence.  The resulting media attention has been significant, and has allowed the topic to expand from identifying alleged individual perpetrators to exploring the role that our larger culture might play in the incidence of this all-too-common form of violence and oppression.

Whether or not you have been following the resulting #metoo movement on social media,  this increase in attention has impacted WFU’s student body in many ways. For some, the movement normalizes or validates their experience, opening empowering opportunities to speak out and heal from their personal experience. Alternately, others may find themselves reliving their own experience(s) with sexual and relationship violence, and disclosing and/or seeking support for the first time.  Still others are realizing that this issue has affected their friends and loved ones and they are looking for ways to support survivors and take action to prevent sexual violence on campus.

WFU is committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all students and offers many supportive resources. One resource, the Safe Office, provides 24/7 confidential services to students who have experienced sexual and relationship violence as well as to those supporting others through their healing process. The Safe Office staff is specialized in working with survivors of sexual and relationship violence and can provide individual and group counseling, advocacy, and education, to assist students through the healing process and to prevent sexual and relationship violence on campus.

This spring semester, the Safe Office is facilitating an all-gender survivor support group that will meet Wednesdays at 5pm, starting January 31st. To find out more about the group, contact Sarah Broadhurst at broadhsf@wfu.edu.  To find out more about Safe Office services, follow this link. We also encourage students to explore additional campus and community confidential resources:

Confidential Campus Resources

Safe Office: Provides confidential crisis response, advocacy, and support services for students who have experienced sexual and relationship violence.

• Contact (24/7): 336.758.5285

University Counseling Center: Free and confidential counseling and psychotherapy, as well as 24/7/365 crisis response services

• Contact (24/7): 336.758.5273

Student Health Service: Medical exams, STI and pregnancy prophylaxis and testing, and toxicology screenings

• Contact (24/7): 336.758.5218

Office of the Chaplain: Spiritual support

• Contact (Business Hours): 336.758.5210

Confidential Community/Online Resources

Family Services: Support and advocacy services for individuals who have experienced sexual assault and relationship violence

• Contact (24/7): 336.733.4457

RAINN: Online crisis response and support for individuals who have experienced sexual assault

• 800-656-4673

1in6: Online resource for men who have experienced sexual assault

• 1in6.org