I'm sharing here an essay I wrote for my Professional Counseling Orientation class this past semester. It details what I do as a sexual assault advocate at the SAFE Alliance. Advocacy work is an important value in the counseling profession and I am honored to get to help people who have had their autonomy, their sense of safety, and their consent violated. 

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please call either the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or, if you are in Austin, the 24/7 SAFEline at 1-512-267-7233. A common misconception is that to get a forensic examination and resources you need to report to the police. While reporting your assault to the police can help build a case against the perpetrator(s), you can also opt for a non-report visit to SAFE to get help. You will then have five years to decide whether to report to police or not, after those five years your forensic kit will be destroyed.