What We Do

The Survivor Advocacy Program (SAP) provides services to ALL student survivors and co-survivors of Ohio University, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation or when/where victimization occurred.

All appointments at SAP are client led. This means that you are never expected to disclose more details than you are ready to share. Your first appointment with an advocate will include completing some necessary paperwork, building rapport, discussing your needs and creating a plan for how SAP can best support you.

Below you will find a description of many of SAP's services and a flow chart that shows the various ways survivors engage with SAP's services.

Confidentiality:

All staff in our department are licensed professionals who are not required to report instances of sexual misconduct to Ohio University's University Equity & Civil Rights Compliance (Title IX), law enforcement or any other investigating body. This means that you can speak with an advocate about your experience(s) without it automatically being reported. The advocate will, however, inform you of your reporting options and assist you with the reporting process, should you wish to report the incident(s) yourself.

Support:

SAP advocates are trained to provide a supportive environment for survivors. When you meet with an advocate you can expect to be believed and validated. Advocates can provide support to you regardless of whether you choose to report incident(s) to Title IX and/or law enforcement.

Crisis Intervention & Advocacy Services:

The Survivor Advocacy Program (SAP) provides immediate crisis intervention and advocacy services to all student survivors of Ohio University and the people in their lives who have been impacted by the trauma.

After Hours Hotline: 

We recognize that you will sometimes have time-sensitive requests during evenings and weekends when the Survivor Advocacy Program office is not open. When classes are in session (i.e. not during Winter break), SAP advocates are available after hours and on the weekends to respond to urgent requests via our hotline. If you have a time-sensitive request, please call our hotline 740-597-SAFE (7233). If an advocate doesn't answer, please leave a message that includes your name, your request, and a safe number we can use to call you back. An advocate will return your call as soon as possible. If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911.

Advocacy Services

SAP advocates for survivor-centered, trauma-informed policies and processes within our campus and community. In addition, a variety of individual advocacy services are available through SAP including, but not limited to:

Medical Advocacy

Some survivors wish to seek medical attention and/or to have a SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Examination) (sometimes called a SANE) exam conducted following a sexual assault. A SAFE exam includes a comprehensive medical assessment related to the sexual trauma and forensic evidence collection. This exam should be done within 96 hours after an assault and is done at no charge to the survivor. For more information about this process visit our medical options page.

A SAP advocate can accompany you to the hospital during this exam to answer your questions, provide support, connect you to other resources and follow up care, as well as to discuss your options for reporting to law enforcement and/or the University. These exams are available at any time by presenting to the emergency department. Please call our hotline (740-597-SAFE (7233)) to request a SAP advocate's presence during a forensic exam.

If you do not wish to have a SAFE exam, SAP advocates can still assist with connecting you to medical resources on campus or in the community.

Title IX Advocacy

Any type of sexual misconduct that occurs against an Ohio University student can be investigated by University Equity & Civil Rights Compliance (ECRC). SAP advocates have extensive knowledge of Title IX and Ohio University’s investigation process. They can discuss this process with you, explore your reporting options, discuss accommodations, and help you prepare for and accompany you throughout the process including during resources and options meetings and investigatory interviews.

For more information about Ohio University’s sexual misconduct policy and investigations process visit the Equity and Civil Rights Compliance webpage.

Support for Co-Survivors

We know that interpersonal violence doesn’t just affect the person who directly experienced the violence. SAP advocates can also provide support for co-survivors (i.e. family, friends, partners of survivors) who have been impacted by the trauma that their loved ones experienced. We can also help you identify ways to support the survivors in your life.

For a visualization of some of the ways survivors interact with the Survivor Advocacy Program, view the flow chart below:

Click here to download the Survivor Advocacy Program Flow Chart [PDF]