Safety Awareness Facts and Education

• Let them know your responsibilities: Let them know that you are a responsible employee, and you may not be able to keep the conversation confidential. Tell them you may have to report the incident to the University which includes completing an SIU Campus Crime Report.
• Listen: This is the most important thing you can do. Be sure not to judge, reject or blame the survivor. Take accurate notes and provide the opportunity for the survivor to seek medical support, file a police report or a report with the University.
• It’s not their fault: Assure them it is not their fault, and nothing a survivor does justifies someone hurting them. 
• Give them options: Share information with them about resources. Let them choose what they want to do and support that choice, even if you don’t agree with it. Give them the SIU Safe Brochure. 
• Fulfill reporting responsibilities if you are a Campus Security Authority or Responsible Employee: Share all known details of the incident by submitting an SIU Campus Crime Report.
• Do not Investigate: Your role is not to investigate, only listen, offer support and give options. 

As a parent, it can be difficult to know that your loved one has experienced violence. It is important to remember that your student has had their power and control taken away from them. You can help them regain it by listening to them, providing them with options, and respecting their decisions. Remember to take care of yourself:

• Seek professional help for yourself and/or your student. SIU offers students with free counseling and psychological services to survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
• Believe what your student tells you. Don’t doubt them if they have gaps in their memory, trauma affects everyone differently and it is normal for details to come out in bits and pieces.
• Let them make decisions about how they want to deal with their experience. Be open to talking with your student about what they’re experiencing even if it is uncomfortable. 
• Recognize your student’s need for privacy. Their boundaries have been violated and reclaiming personal space is important. Respect the time and space it takes to heal after a sexual assault.
• Take care of yourself. Educate yourself about sexual and domestic violence and the healing process. Realize when you’ve reached your own limitations, and encourage your student to talk to a professional. As a parent of a survivor, you may have reactions of anger, sadness, and shame. Those are normal reactions! Find a supportive person or counselor with whom you can process your feelings so that your conversations with your student can focus on their needs.