How Faculty & Staff Can Give Support

Faculty and staff play a key role in supporting students. You can help a student who tells you about an incident of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, or violence by offering the student support and directing them to resources.

Below are some the first responses that are helpful to students

Be supportive
Carefully listen to the student and believe what she or he is telling you. It is important to remain non-judgmental. The student survivor has chosen you as a trusted resource person. You are a step in their healing process. Put the student's needs first. Do not press for details; let the student decide how much she or he is comfortable telling you. Each person will react to abuse or harassment in her or his own way. Tell the student she or he has done the right thing by coming to you for help.

Refer the student to services
Help the student identify helpful resources. Seeking assistance from any resource must always be the survivor's choice–don't badger or force the person to seek additional help. The student may need help deciding whether to seek medical or counseling assistance or make a report to law enforcement. You can provide them with a list of options from resources on this site.

Confidentiality
Assure the student that she or he can trust you. Tell the student the information will be shared only with individuals in the university community who need to know in order to provide assistance or services.

Federal regulations protect student information that is of a confidential nature. Do not share information with others who are not directly involved in providing services to the student, including parents and family members.

Get the student's permission to share information. Let the student know what information you are going to share and with whom.

Special considerations for helping a student that was sexually assaulted

• It is extremely important that you listen to and believe the student, that you respect the time and space it may take for them to heal and that you ask how you can help. It is important that you let your student know that the assault was not her or his fault.
• Do not ask questions that may imply that it was her or his fault such as "Did you go to his room?" or "Were you drinking?"
• Encourage your student to seek medical treatment, counseling services, and report the incident to the police. While it is good to encourage your student to do these things, it is just as important to let her or him make the decision. Your student's power and control has been taken away and by allowing your student to make these decisions, it helps her or him to regain that power and control.
• If your student makes the decision to pursue assistance, you can offer to help your student make contact with the appropriate offices.
• Remember to also take care of yourself. Having a student that has been sexually assaulted can be very difficult. You may also need information, resources, and support; these are all available for you as well as your student.

Special considerations for helping a student that is in an abusive relationship

• It is extremely important that you listen to and believe your student, that you respect the time and space she or he may need, and that you ask how you can help.
• It can be difficult trying to support a student, because she or he may not recognize the abusive nature of the relationship. You can express your concern about your student's safety, but remember to offer support whether she or he decides to stay in the relationship or leave the relationship. You don't want to isolate the student even further!
• Encourage your student to seek counseling services and/or medical treatment or police assistance if appropriate.
• Remember to take care of yourself. It can be very hard to try to support someone in an abusive relationship. You may also need information, resources, and support; all of these are available for you as well as your student.

Special considerations for helping a student that is being stalked, cyberstalked, or harassed

It is extremely important that you listen to and believe your student and that you ask how you can help. Being stalked or harassed can be a scary experience.

• It is important to acknowledge how traumatic this can be and not make light of what is happening.
• Encourage your student to discontinue contact with the person that is harassing and/or stalking her or him.
• Encourage your student to consider seeking counseling, making a police report, or reporting to the university judicial system.
• Having a student that is being stalked or harassed can be very scary. You may also need information, resources, and support; these are all available for you as well as your student.

The Women's Center at Virginia Tech, Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley (off-campus), and Office for Equal Opportunity provide the following services to all students, staff, and faculty free of charge.

Women's Center at Virginia Tech

• Offer the victim crisis intervention, advocacy, support, and individual and group counseling.
• Accompany the victim (as needed and desired) to medical facilities, law enforcement, court proceedings, and university judicial hearings.
• Inform the victim of criminal, judicial, and civil options to report and adjudicate a crime.
• Explain what counseling options are available both on and off campus.
• Inform the victim about the forensic care offered at Montgomery Regional Hospital and the New River Valley Medical Center, and how to seek medical attention from the VT Schiffert Health Center or local hospitals.
• Inform the student victim of academic relief.
• Assist her or him in finding a safe place to go by reviewing resources available.

Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley (off-campus)

• Provide 24-hour hotline services (639-1123) for victims of sexual assault.
• Provide 24-hour crisis intervention by CARE Companion Advocates, including accompaniment to medical facilities and police departments.
• Explain the forensic care offered at Montgomery Regional Hospital and the New River Valley Medical Center.
• Offer shelter facilities for victims who do not feel safe in their homes.
• Provide individual and group counseling to victims.
• Provide a victim witness assistant to accompany the victim to court proceedings and the Commonwealth Attorney's Office and to guide her or him through the court process.
• If the victim is affiliated with Virginia Tech, explain resources available on campus.
• If the alleged assailant is a Virginia Tech student, inform the victim of the option to file a judicial referral under University Policies for Student Life in the VT Office of Judicial Affairs.
• Discuss the option to file a report with the police department in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred.

Office for Equal Opportunity

Investigate reports of behavior that may constitute harassment by a contractor or university employee (including student employees).

Grant statement: This project was supported by grant # 2005-WA-AX-0020 awarded by the Violence Against Women Office, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of View in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Last updated 03/29/2007