CBC: U of M pens how-to guide for helping sexual assault victims

Teghan Beaudette at the CBC recently wrote a special report on the a group of University of Manitoba scholars who are developing instructions for what to do if someone discloses a sexual assault.

As she writes:

The group is working on a sexual assault response protocol to help everyday people respond.

David Ness, head of student counselling at the university, is part of the group and says sometimes people can unintentionally do more harm than good.

“If someone’s experienced a sexual assault, you don’t want to start questioning them about what happened and going into detail right away,” he said. “Instead, you want to be listening non-judgmentally, giving support and just being there for them and asking them what they need.”