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Victim Advocacy Services

The Center for Well-Being provides free, confidential, appointment-based services with a victim support advocate to all students who are affected by sexual violence, interpersonal violence (dating or domestic violence), and stalking, as well as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.

Advocates provide:

  • Emotional and administrative support, including coordinating interim measures, accommodations, and other supports
  • Psychoeducation on the impact of trauma and the cycle of violence.
  • Referrals and resources both on and off campus.

Connect with a victim support advocate if you are seeking support for yourself, looking for information on how to support a friend, or interested in bringing a workshop or training to your class or student organization.

If you have recently experienced sexual violence, please visit this page for crucial information about obtaining a forensic exam (rape kit) and 24/7 crisis response services on and off campus.
Immediate Care Page


Student Amnesty Policy

As our community becomes better equipped and engaged with a Trauma-Informed Approach, we are creating a safe environment to learn, grow and thrive in. Creating a culture of care involves individual and structural intervention, including policy. In February 2025 the university adopted the Student Amnesty Policy to support an environment in which students can receive the care and support they need without fear of disciplinary actions when faced with a crisis and/or medical emergency. Read more about the Student Amnesty Policy here.

Important Terms

Find definitions of important terms below.

Engaging in repeated behavior towards someone that causes fear for one’s safety or the safety of others, or leads to emotional distress. This can take many forms, such as unwanted contact (calls, texts, e-mails, social media, unwanted messages), unwanted gifts, property damage or vandalism, catfishing or creating fake identities to snoop on someone, issuing threats to a victim’s friends, families, or colleagues, or watching or spying on someone.

Any sexual contact or behavior that takes place without consent. Examples include but are not limited to unwanted sexual touching, fondling, forcing someone to perform sexual acts, attempted rape, or rape, The legal definition is slightly different in each state.

A behavior pattern in which one partner utilizes manipulation or power as an attempt to control the other partner. There are several forms this abuse can come in, including financial, sexual, verbal, technological, emotional, and/or physical. This abuse can take several forms including emotional, physical, sexual, financial, and/or digital.

Words or conduct indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or to participate in sexual activities.

What is Advocacy?

Advocacy Is:

  • Trauma-informed: We are experts on the impact of trauma on student functioning.
  • Survivor-centered: Our goal is to reduce the burden on survivors as they navigate their recovery.
  • Empowerment-based: We don't believe in telling anyone what to do; rather, we provide information to help survivors make fully-informed decisions.
    Book an In-Person Appointment

Advocacy Is Not:

  • A substitute for counseling: Advocacy might feel therapeutic, but it isn't therapy. For psychotherapy services, please see here. WBC clinicians are trauma-informed to respond to your concerns.
  • Medical Advice: While we encourage survivors to access medical care, we do not provide medical advice.
  • Legal advice: We work closely with local organizations who provide free legal services for survivors.

Explore our Survivor Toolkit for a variety of resources to support you.
 

Victim Advocacy Services Training/Workshop Request

VSA facilitates trainings and workshops across the university and for community partners. If you are interested in a workshop, training, or would like to request an advocate for a speaker/panel engagement, please email wbcprograms@american.edu.
Submit a Inquiry

Signature Trainings & Workshops

Bystander Intervention

This training encourages and educates participants how to identify and safely respond to inappropriate and/or harmful situations that perpetrate or support the cycle of violence. Our training is based on the 5 D’s and offered bi-annually.

Healthy Relationships

This workshop is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to identify dynamics of healthy vs unhealthy relationships, including but not limited to boundary setting, manipulation, accountability, etc.

Consent Workshop

This workshop explores consent in various way including but not limited to platonic or romantic relationships, sexual or non-sexual contact, and daily practices that support consent culture.

How To Help a Friend (Peer Health Educator Lead)

CWB’s PHEs teach students how to navigate supporting friends that have experienced sexual assault while honoring your personal limits/capabilities in the process.

Trauma Informed Care

The Center for Well-Being staff members educates attendees about what trauma-informed care is and how to translate the TIC framework into practical tools to engage with students. This training covers TIC in a general scope with advocate and/or clinician.

How To Support Students

VSA advocates facilitates this workshop for staff and faculty to learn ways to support students navigating impact related to Interpersonal violence and how a trauma informed compassionate classroom enhances student experience.

New Student Orientation

Each semester VSA conducts training for new incoming students that covers our services, campus resources, and overview of interpersonal violence, consent, how to respond to survivors, and bystander intervention.


Signature Programming

Victim Advocacy Services at the Center for Well-Being Programs and Psychological Services hosts a plethora of events to support survivors and inform students about campus and community resources. Look out for an increased number of events in October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month and April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Below is a snapshot of some of the programming we have held:

A purple t shirt with the text, Wear Purple Day, below it.
A letter with the text, Writing Letters to Survivors of Domestic Violence, below it.
A collection of toiletries with the text, Donation Drive for Survivors of Domestic Violence, below it.
A small brown and white dog with the text, Dogs on the Quad, below it.
A pink heart with the text, Healthy Relationships, below it.
A clothesline with the text, Clothesline Project, below it.
A woman in a yoga pose with the text, Trauma-informed Yoga, below it.
A pair of denim shorts the text, Denim Day, below it.
A cartoon of a group holding a megaphone with the text, Tabling at Take Back the Night, below it.