If you or someone you care about experiences sexual violence, know that you are not alone. There is no expected or required response to trauma. Some people who have experienced sexual violence feel grief, anger, or nothing at all. For some survivors it can take several months or years to even identify their experiences as sexual violence. Regardless of your experience(s) or response(s), there are free and survivor-centric support options available to you, if you would like to access them.
The Anti-Violence Coordinators (AVCs) are responsible for coordinating SSMU’s response to sexual violence, and they can be reached at avc@ssmu.ca.
They can receive complaints about sexual and gendered violence and connect individuals who have experienced sexual and gender based violence and their supporters to resources. They also provide the SSMU GSVP training and coordinate the Involvement Restriction Policy, along with other faculties.
At McGill and in the Montreal community there are peer-to-peer, student, and institutional support resources for you. Sexual violence is a specific form of harm that often requires support from specialized professionals who are trained in responding to trauma and gender-based violence. Accessing resources is completely at the discretion of the survivor and their needs. For information about support resources that are confidential, non-judgmental, trauma-informed, and have staff who can work with people who have experienced sexual violence as they process their experience and seek healing, click here. They can be accessed at any point regardless of when the incident(s) occurred and are free of charge.