Books

How to Respond When Someone Tells You About Sexual Assault:

Lessons from a Sexual Assault Survivor

Resources:

Hearing about sexual assault can be incredibly overwhelming. Not knowing what to do in that moment can make it even worse.


Told from the perspective of a sexual assault survivor, this book is designed to be a quick read for those who want to know how best to handle discussions regarding sexual assault.

This step-by-step guide includes:

  • How to frame your reaction to a victim of sexual assault
  • How to avoid the common pitfalls of responding to sexual assault victims
  • How sexual assault victims commonly respond to trauma and the best ways to support them
  • What it’s like for a victim to come forward and report sexual assault and why it can take so long
  • What to do when you know the perpetrator

Drawing upon her experience as a sexual assault survivor, board-certified coach Amanda J. Rivers provides practical advice about responding to sexual assault that will equip you to bring healing and hope to victims. Your response holds more power than you know.


From the Editor: Rachel Sturgill

Facing what we thought impossible to confront makes us better at being human. The victim of sexual assault is not without hope, but is too often without adequate help. The road of healing is dark and unknown for both the victim and those in their lives until someone lights the way, and that is what Amanda Rivers has done in How to Respond When Someone Tells You About Sexual Assault. As a survivor of sexual assault herself, years of healing and learning have given her a fearless compassion for others who have also suffered. She is a guide for the loved ones of a victim fighting to be a survivor. With the empathy that can only come from experience, she gives heartfelt and practical counsel on how to respond to the tragedy of abuse. This book is essential to those who are determined to help the hurting along the road to healing and to those seeking an insider’s view of responding to sexual assault.


About the Author

Amanda J. Rivers specializes in creating a calm, coherent dialogue about the things in life that are most difficult to discuss. She has been speaking and writing about sexual assault, violence, suicide, and depression since 2007. She leverages her story to invite her audiences to recognize the power they have to create growth and healing within their own lives.

Amanda serves as a United States Space Force officer and is also a board-certified coach. She currently lives in Colorado Springs, CO.