FAQ for Friends and Family
FAQ for Friends and Family
Someone I love told me that they have experienced gender-based violence. How can I respond?
Thank them for trusting you. Let them know you believe them and support whatever decision they choose. Tell them that there is help available – connect them with CAN, and feel free to reach out to an advocate yourself if you have questions or concerns.
My loved one is a UIC student. Why should I care about CAN?
CAN works with other campus units to make UIC a safe, welcoming place where students feel they belong. At the core of CAN’s work lies concern for the safety and wellbeing of all UIC’s community members. CAN takes a trauma-informed, survivor-centered, needs-based, change-focused, community-engaged approach to ending violence, foregrounding restorative justice.
I just found out someone I love experienced violence, and I am feeling ___ (devastated, overwhelmed, confused, angry, ashamed). Is it normal to feel this way?
Your feelings are normal and valid! Family and friends respond in all different ways and often do not know what to do or where to go for help. Remember, violence is never a survivor’s fault, and it is not your fault, either.
Take care of yourself and give yourself time to process your feelings separately from the survivor. Feel free to reach out to CAN or a hotline to connect with an advocate, learn how to respond to a disclosure, and ask questions about what a survivor may be going through. Educating yourself and allowing yourself time to process will help you better support the survivors in your life.
How can I advocate for the survivors in my life?
- Connect with a CAN advocate to process your feelings.
- Attend a CAN event, workshop, or training to develop advocacy skills and learn more about gender-based violence.
- Keep up with CAN! Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to the WLRC listserv.