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The Office of Advocacy and Support
If you are seeking OAS resources, please contact [email protected] for more information about support.
Our Mission
The Office of Advocacy and Support provides trauma-informed and healing-centered confidential support to GW students impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence, and/or stalking. OAS plays a crucial role in fostering a community that values and promotes healthy relationships through support and prevention programming. OAS is committed to cultivating and strengthening a culture of care that empathetically supports and empowers GW community members. In service of this mission, OAS is proud to work with campus partners to create a safer, healthier, and more informed campus community.
Advocates provide
- Emotional and administrative support, including coordinating interim measures, accommodations, and other supports.
- Psychoeducation on the impact of trauma and cycle of violence.
- Space to discuss and process feelings and reactions in confidence.
- Referrals and resources both on and off campus.
Advocacy is
- Trauma-informed: meaning 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. We recognize that the survivor is the expert in their experience.
- Empowerment-based: We do not believe in telling anyone what to do; rather, we provide information to help survivors make fully-informed decisions.
Advocacy isn't
- A substitute for counseling: Advocacy might feel therapeutic, but it is not therapy.
- Medical Advice: While we encourage survivors to access medical care, we do not provide medical advice.
- Legal advice: We cannot provide legal advice however we work closely with local organizations that provide free legal services for survivors.