Advocating for Sexual Assault Survivors

The minutes and hours following a sexual assault are an eternity we hope no one close to us will ever have to endure. But for one in four women and one in six men, it’s a reality that will bring as many conflicted feelings as it will questions. Helping to guide survivors through the process are advocates, who provide non-judgmental support, information about legal and medical rights, and assistance in navigating the criminal and civil justice systems.

“Part of the importance of an advocate is that they’re there to validate and support a survivor’s feelings and decisions,” explains Sarah Layden, who has been an advocate for three years. “By providing survivors with information about their options so they can make informed decisions about the medical process, the criminal justice process, et cetera, advocates also help survivors regain a sense of control. In a crisis where the loss of control and choice underlies the victimization that has taken place, the ability to decide what's next and be supported through those choices is crucial.” Sarah underwent a 40-hour training and certification by the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault in Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention to become an advocate; additionally, “Advocates must be under the direct supervision of a rape crisis center in order for their conversations with survivors to be considered confidential under Illinois law,” she says.

Sarah also serves as director of Advocacy Services for Rape Victim Advocates, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on both social services and social change. We asked Sarah, as well as RVA Executive Director Sharmili Majmudar, to explain the role of an advocate, the uphill battles they face in assisting survivors, the differences in how the law and society define consent, and how people can best support those in their lives whom have been affected by sexual assault.

Explain the logistics of being an advocate: Who manages you? Are you compensated for your time?
SARAH Some advocates are compensated for their time. Rape Victim Advocates has four staff advocates, an advocacy volunteer coordinator and the director of advocacy services (myself), who are all full-time, paid staff. RVA also has about 130 volunteer advocates. These advocates are supervised by the advocacy volunteer coordinator and help RVA provide 24-hour in-person crisis response to 11 Chicago-area hospitals. Staff and volunteer advocates respond to these 11 hospital’s emergency departments any timea patient discloses they have been assaulted or abused. Volunteers are not paid to provide these services. Most do it to fulfill school or professional experience requirements; others have an interest in the fight against sexual violence; some are survivors themselves or have loved ones who are survivors.

Tell us about who you see when you respond to hospital calls.
SHARMILI In terms of our emergency room services, we respond to 30-70 calls a month. Our advocates spend anywhere from one to 12 hours in the emergency room with survivors. We stay there with them as long as they need and want us.


We provide legal advocacy, medical advocacy and counseling services to an average of 140 victims a month. Ninety percent identify as women, 10 percent as men. In terms of age, 46 percent are between the ages of 18 and 29; 26 percent are under 18 and 28 percent are 30-65+.

When you first meet with the survivor, what are your immediate steps?
SARAH Rather than asking a survivor what happened, our advocates will ask what they need. When we first meet the survivor in the ER, we introduce ourselves, who we are and what we do, and we ask them if they’d like to talk to us. It’s important to let the survivor know we’re separate from the hospital and the police, and are solely there for them. We also let the survivor knowthat anything they tell us is confidential, and that confidentiality is protected by law. Advocates will then ask where they’re at in the process. Did they just arrive in the ER? Have they seen the nurse ordoctor? Have the police been called or have they spoken to police already? This allows us to provide information about what will happen during theirER visitas well what options they have.

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