Advice for Family, Friends, and Partners

Sexual violence not only affects the survivor, it affects all of the people who love her/him. Part of what makes it so difficult is not knowing what to say or do. The information below will hopefully give you a basis for dealing with a survivor, and a way in which to offer constructive help.

Immediate Responses to a Survivor

Although there is no "right" way to immediately respond to a survivor, those who want to be helpful should:

• Be supportive, without overreacting. Survivors may be sensitive to the reactions of others.
  
  
• Be sensitive to the fact that some sexual assault survivors don't want to be touched. (hugged, patted, etc.)
  
  
• Try not to be awkward or to show pity. The sexual assault experience is only one part of a person's life. Try not to let it overshadow everything else.
  
  
• Show interest, but do not pry.
  
  
• Help in making decisions if asked (who to tell, whether to report to police, where to stay, etc.), without trying to make decisions for the survivor.
  
  
• Avoid being overly protective or overly attentive. Survivors may want to be near others to feel safe and to keep busy, but they may not want to be the center of attention.
  
  
• Be patient and understand that survivors may release their feelings on loved ones because anger and frustration cannot be taken out on the offender. Old problems may get worse and new ones may arise.
  
  
• Consider getting counselling for yourself. Counseling can help you maintain the strength and understanding needed to deal with your feelings and to assist the survivor.

How to Help

Be ready to listen.

Survivors will need to talk about what happened and will probably express many feelings. Providing a safe environment in which to talk, and also setting aside time for these conversations, may be the most helpful thing that friends and family can do. You do not need to provide answers -- just listen.

Listen; do not judge. It is not your place to play prosecutor and make her/him prove her/his story. Accept her/his version of the facts and be supportive. Don't ask for details and don't offer any explanations for why this occurred. You may have to deal with your feelings separately. Many sexual assult counseling services can be helpful to friends and relatives of sexual assault survivors. If you are not able or willing to listen, acknowledge that, and then help the survivor in ways that you can. Remember that the recovery process may last for several months to years and that the need and desire to talk will vary depending on where the survivor happens to be in the recovery process.

Let them know that you believe them.

The job of family and friends is to support, to believe, and to be non-judgmental. Survivors will be dealing with their own sense of shame and guilt and should not be burdened by the ill-founded judgments of those people who are closest to them.

Simply letting a survivor know that you believe her/him and that you stand behind her/him, is a great help. Also let the survivor know she/he is not to blame. This is crucial. Many sexual assault survivors blame themselves. The survivor needs to be reassured that the perpetrator is to blame, she/he is not.

Offer a safe place to stay or even staying with the survivor.

This may seem like such a small thing, but feeling safe again may be very difficult for the survivor. Having family or friends close at hand can facilitate that sense of being safe and protected. It is important, however, not to be smothering. Allow survivors to determine where they want to stay and with whom.

Be available.

The survivor may need to talk at odd hours or for longer periods of time in the beginning. She/he may not have a lot of people she/he can talk to and so may rely heavily on one person. Be there as much as you can and encourage her/him to either call a hotline or go for counselling.

Recognize that recovery takes a long time.

Friends and family can aid in the healing by acknowledging the feelings, reminding the survivor that the feelings are a normal part of healing, and emphasizing that these feelings will not last forever.

Educate yourself about the myths of sexual assault.

Sexual assault is never the fault of the survivor, but rather the fault of the perpetrator. Although this sounds like a simple fact, much of the misinformation that exists points to the survivor as being responsible for the sexual assault. To be truly supportive, one must believe the survivor while disbelieving and challenging the myths that surround sexual assault.

Allow the survivor to make her/his own decisions.

Part of feeling in control includes making decisions and having those decisions respected. Sometimes family and friends may not agree with the decisions that are being made; however, it is important that survivors be allowed to determine their own solutions to the sexual assault or rape. This point can be very difficult since it can be very tempting to "take over" for a while in an attempt to help the survivor deal with the rape. It is important to remember that because of the rape, the survivor felt a loss of control over her/his life.

Deal with your own feelings.

Typically, family and friends have some fairly strong reactions to having someone they care about being assaulted. They may feel anger, rage, guilt, confusion, blame, or numerous other strong emotions. Just as the actual survivor must express emotion, so too must friends and family.

But rather than expressing this emotion to the survivor, the friend or family member should deal with these emotions with someone else. It is not fair to survivors to have to handle not only their own feelings but also those of the people they are turning to for support and assistance. In fact, this can only add to the feelings of guilt and remorse that survivors may already be feeling. If you have strong feelings, talk to another friend or to a counsellor.