Anna Gorman, BSW ’18 (also MSW from Washington University in St. Louis), was recently hired as the first full-time Survivor Advocate for Survivor Services at the UW-Madison’s University Health Services. The Survivor Services Advocacy Program was recently developed to expand services for students who experienced sexual or relationship violence. As Anna explains:
There are many wonderful resources for survivors on campus and in the Madison community. However, it can be overwhelming or confusing for students to understand what their options are and how to navigate these systems. My role is to act as a support person for survivors, while connecting them to the services they want to engage in.
Data from a 2019 AAU Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct revealed that 26.1% of undergraduate women, 6.8% of undergraduate men, and 28.4% of transgender, genderqueer or nonbinary, questioning, or not listed (TGQN) students experienced sexual assault victimization.
Anna’s professional interests include, “case-management, sexual health, and working with individuals that have experienced various forms of trauma.” She brings her professional training and experience to her position.
You can find out more about the program and its resources at: https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/survivor-resources.