Connect & Reflect 

This April, UHS Survivor Services and Violence Prevention will host ”Connect & Reflect”—a space for student survivors and allies to reclaim campus, build community, and break the stigma around survivorship. Preview upcoming Connect & Reflect events below and visit the webpage for more information.  

CONNECT 

Coffee & Consent | April 30th from 10 PM – 2 PM on East Campus Mall 

Stop by for a cup of coffee and learn about campus, student-led, and community resources available to survivors. 

Day of Connection | April 30th from 2 PM – 7 PM on the 4th floor of the Student Activity Center  

Connect with other student survivors through assorted art and crafts, movement, and violence prevention activities. View the full schedule.  

REFLECT  

Art & History Gallery | April 1st – 30th open daily from 10 AM – 8 PM on the 4th floor of the Student Activity Center 

View the past 50 years of campus sexual assault activism alongside art by student survivors in person and online.  

Closing Reception | April 30th from 4 PM – 5:30 PM on the 4th floor of the Student Activity Center 

Gather for refreshments and conversation with UHS and campus partners working on sexual violence research, prevention, and response. The reception will include brief remarks by Associate Director of Title IX Coordinator, Lauren Hasselbacher, and acknowledgement of this year’s student artists. 

Other ways you can get involved to support violence prevention on campus  

Join a student organization:  

• PAVE is dedicated to preventing sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking through education and activism.  

• Sex Out Loud promotes healthy sexuality through sex-positive education and activism.  

• EmBark unites survivors of sexual assault and dating violence with the shelter animal of their choice.  

Build skills to prevent violence before it occurs: 

• GetWIse@Home offers four online violence prevention programs to choose from, including DatingWIse (healthy relationships and dating violence), SexWIse (healthy sex and sexual violence), ListenWIse (trauma and survivor support), and ActWIse (recognizing violence and bystander intervention).  

• “Find Your Role” is an interactive, 10-question personality-style quiz designed to help you explore what types of stepping in may feel safest and most comfortable to you by discovering how you are already practicing different types of intervention in your everyday life. At the end of the quiz, you will receive personal, actionable feedback that matches your “role” in stepping in to prevent harm.

Attend other events and programs for Sexual Assault Awareness Month:

• Keep an eye out for other events throughout the month hosted by student organizations and campus partners, including rallies, mindfulness sessions, and self-defense classes (all hosted by the RCC)

Year-Round Support for Student Survivors at UHS 

UHS Survivor Services supports you in whatever ways feel most helpful for you, including providing emotional care, reviewing your options, and affirming your decisions. If you’re unsure how to label your experience or what support you need, our Survivor Services team is here to listen, provide resources, and help you explore your options, including referrals, accommodations, and reporting. 

To connect with an advocate, email survivorservices@uhs.wisc.edu, call 608-265-5600 (option 3), or schedule online via MyUHS. 

One of these courses is GetWIse@Home, an online course developed by UHS Violence Prevention experts that helps undergraduate students explore violence prevention and survivor support topics. GetWIse has been required for incoming first-year and new transfer students since 2016 and was introduced as an offering for all undergraduate students in 2023. All degree-seeking undergraduate students are encouraged to complete an online GetWIse prevention education course eaach year.  

GetWIse offers four programs to choose from, including DatingWIse (healthy relationships and dating violence), SexWIse (healthy sex and sexual violence), ListenWIse (trauma and survivor support), and ActWIse (recognizing violence and bystander intervention).  

For fall 2024, new first-year and transfer students must complete one GetWIse program of their choice by December 1.

Violence prevention as a shared responsibility 

In deciding to make GetWIse part of undergraduate students’ annual expected education, UHS conducted a review of campus data, peer universities’ prevention education policies, CDC recommendations, a comprehensive external audit, and student feedback.  

Studies show that repeated education opportunities increase the effectiveness of violence prevention education. Violence prevention is not just a concern for first-year students; during their time in college, most students will know someone who has experienced sexual assault or dating violence. About 1 in 10 students at UW-Madison experiences some form of dating violence while in college, and around 1 in 6 experiences sexual assault. GetWIse provides strategies for students to support a safer campus community by normalizing consent and bystander intervention and calling out entitlement, objectification, and boundary-crossing behavior. 

“Although first-year students are at a higher risk for experiencing sexual assault, older students have more social influence on social norms,” says Sam Bowen, Assistant Director of Violence Prevention. “Encouraging students to complete GetWIse annually makes sure that violence prevention is the responsibility of the whole campus community, not just our newest students.” 

Learn more about GetWIse and the four programs on the UHS website. Students can access GetWIse on Canvas.  

Strength for Survivors: Wednesday, October 9 from 5:30 – 7 PM at the Red Gym, On Wisconsin Room

Join UHS Survivor Services and Rec Well for a transformative trauma embodiment workshop centered on strength training. This event is designed for student survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence and their allies. Led by Rec Well personal trainers, the workshop will guide participants through strength training exercises that emphasize personal choice and empowerment. Survivor Services staff will also lead discussions on setting intentions for movement practices, breathwork, and exploring how trauma impacts the body. This event will be co-hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center.

Rewriting the Love Languages: Tuesday, October 22 from 4 – 6 PM at the University Club

Join Annie Bruns and Gaonue Vang from UHS Survivor Services to reimagine the concept of “love languages.” Facilitators will support a group discussing using 18 Languages for Modern Love, developed by certified sex educator Anne Hodder-Shipp, as a central theme. The group will explore why expanding love languages is necessary and how we might use these in all of our close relationships (not just romantic ones). This event will be co-hosted with Fraternity & Sorority Life and PAVE

Drop-In Virtual Support for Survivors: Each Monday from 1 – 2:30 PM virtually. Sign up online

This is a drop-in space for student survivors to connect with peers and offer mutual support in a confidential and safe environment. The group facilitators, Kayla Eggen and Kendall Ferguson are mental health professionals who foster an open space, affirming, and connecting for all members. The group will focus on the impact of having experienced trauma and skills/supports to support post-traumatic growth, with some boundaries placed around sharing narratives about traumatic experiences. This group is specifically designed for UW-Madison students who have experienced sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, sexual harassment, stalking, and/or childhood sexual abuse.

Drop-In Crafty Coping Community for Survivors: Each Wednesday from 2:30 – 4:00 PM at 333 East Campus Mall, Room 7001

This is a drop-in space for student survivors to connect with peers and offer mutual support in a confidential and safe environment. The group facilitators, UHS providers Alex Little, will foster an open and affirming space for all members while guiding members through sensory- and movement-based coping skills. The community will focus on navigating the impact of trauma experiences through connection and skills to support post-traumatic growth. It is specifically for students who experienced sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, sexual harassment, stalking, and/or childhood sexual abuse. Sign up online for this in-person community. Registration is not required but will provide a reminder email.

Expanding Campus Violence Prevention Efforts through GetWIse

Education plays a crucial role in preventing violence on campus. UHS offers violence prevention programs to help students understand, address, and avoid violence. All new undergraduate and graduate students are required to participate in these programs to learn how to make healthy decisions, handle tough situations, and access support resources.

The GetWIse@Home program, mandatory for first year and transfer students, covers topics related to violence prevention and support for survivors. This program is also available annually to all undergraduates as a refresher to reinforce their knowledge and skills.

“These topics are not only a concern for first-year students,” says Sam Bowen, assistant director of violence prevention. “In fact, the risk of experiencing some form of sexual or relationship violence increases the longer a student has been on campus. Repeated opportunities for education on violence prevention will increase the effectiveness of our violence prevention strategy.”

Most students will encounter someone affected by sexual assault or dating violence during their college years. At UW-Madison, about 1 in 10 students face dating violence, and 1 in 6 experience sexual assault. GetWIse@Home aims to promote a safer campus by teaching about consent, bystander intervention, and recognizing harmful behaviors.

The program includes four modules: DatingWIse (healthy relationships), SexWIse (healthy sex), ListenWIse (support for survivors), and ActWIse (bystander intervention). Students taking GetWIse as a refresher can choose to redo a previous module or explore a new one.

Learn more about GetWIse@Home and the four modules on the UHS website. Students can access the modules through the GetWIse@Home page on Canvas.

Year-Round Survivor Support and Resources through UHS

UHS supports student survivors through coordinated advocacy, mental health, and medical services—including forensic nurse exams on-site—that are no-cost and confidential. Our survivor services team will validate your experience and care, while also sharing information and resources you might need, like referrals, accommodations, and reporting options.

Students can schedule an appointment to talk with an advocate and learn about their options by emailing survivorservices@uhs.wisc.edu, calling 608-265-5600 (option 3), or self-scheduling via the MyUHS portal.

Learn more about UHS Survivor Services on our website.

Sexual violence affects every person in our community. Keeping our community safe is made possible through shared responsibility for creating safe, equitable spaces in which sexual violence is not acceptable.   

This spring, UHS Survivor Services and Violence Prevention invite student survivors, allies, and campus partners to join us in continuing our work toward a safe, supportive, and survivor-centered campus community.  

Connect & Reflect  

Throughout the spring semester, UHS Survivor Services and Violence Prevention will host a series of “Connect & Reflect” events, which invite student survivors and allies to reclaim campus, find community with other survivors and allies, and reduce the stigma around survivorship.  

The “Connect” events will provide spaces for shared healing, growth, and self-expression for student survivors and allies to grow together. The series will culminate in April with the “Reflect” exhibit, featuring a historical review of significant moments in campus sexual assault advocacy, alongside art created by student survivors.   

Preview upcoming Connect & Reflect events below, and visit the Connect & Reflect webpage for more information.​​ 

• Crafty Coping Community
  Wednesdays, February 7 – May 1, 3 – 4:30pm
  333 East Campus Mall, Room 7001
• Art Evening with Wheelhouse Studios and UHS Survivor Services
  Thursday, March 14, 3 – 6pm
  Wheelhouse Studios
• Embodied Resilience with UHS Survivor Services: A Survivor-Centered Dance/Movement Therapy Workshop  
  Friday, April 5, 1 – 3pm
  Bakke, Serenity Studio (Second Floor)
• Trauma-informed Yoga with UHS Survivor Services and Insight Counseling
  Friday, April 19, 1 – 3 pm
  Bakke, Serenity Studio (Second Floor) 
• Collective ARTivism Project: Denim Day
  Wednesday, April 24, 2 – 5pm
  Library Mall
• Reflect: Art and History Gallery
  April 1 – 30
  Discovery Building Hub Central and Image Lab Galleries (First Floor) 

Other ways you can get involved to support violence prevention on campus 

Join a student organization working to prevent violence and support student survivors on campus: 

• PAVE is dedicated to preventing sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking through education and activism. 
• Sex Out Loud promotes healthy sexuality through sex-positive education and activism. 
• EmBark unites survivors of sexual assault and dating violence with the shelter animal of their choice. 

Build skills to prevent violence before it occurs:

• GetWIse@Home offers four online violence prevention programs to choose from, including DatingWIse (healthy relationships and dating violence), SexWIse (healthy sex and sexual violence), ListenWIse (trauma and survivor support), and ActWIse (recognizing violence and bystander intervention). 
• Safer Bar is a bystander intervention education program for campus students and staff who work at alcohol-serving establishments. Anyone who works at an alcohol-serving establishment is welcome to attend. Thursday, April 11, 5 – 7pm | PAVE Office at 333 E. Campus Mall, Suite 3147.  

Attend other events and programs for Sexual Assault Awareness Month: 

• Keep an eye out for other events throughout the month hosted by student organizations and campus partners, including a Self-Care Night and Survivor Love Letters (hosted by PAVE).  

Year-Round Survivor Support and Resources through UHS 

UHS supports student survivors through coordinated advocacy, mental health, and medical services—including forensic nurse exams on-site—that are no-cost and confidential. It is not uncommon for survivors to be unsure how to label their experience or identify what they need. Our Survivor Services team is prepared to validate your experience, to share information and resources available to you—like referrals, accommodations, and reporting options—and empower the decisions you make about your care. 

Students can schedule an appointment to talk with an advocate and learn about their options by emailing  survivorservices@uhs.wisc.edu, calling 608-265-5600 (option 3), or self-scheduling via the MyUHS portal.  

Learn more about UHS Survivor Services on our website. 

Modern Love Languages Workshop: October 19 from 2 – 4 PM at Memorial Union

Join UHS Survivor Services and Sex Out Loud to talk about modern love languages. Advocates and providers will facilitate a group dialogue using 18 Languages for Modern Love, developed by certified sex educator Anne Hodder-Shipp, as a central theme. In community, students will understand why an expansion of love languages is important and explore how we might use these in all of our close relationships (not just romantic ones).

Drop-In Crafty Coping Community for Survivors: Each Wednesday from 3 – 4:30 PM at 333 East Campus Mall, Room 8808

This is a drop-in space for student survivors to connect with peers and offer mutual support in a confidential and safe environment. The group facilitators, UHS providers Carol Heins-Daniels and Alex Little, will foster a space that is open and affirming for all members while guiding members through sensory- and movement-based coping skills. The community will focus on navigating the impact of trauma experiences through connection and skills to support post-traumatic growth. It is specifically for students who experienced sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, sexual harassment, stalking, and/or childhood sexual abuse. Sign up online for this in-person community.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month Information & Resource Panel: Tuesday, October 24 from 5:30 – 7 PM at Eagle Heights Community Center, Room 139

Learn more about dynamics of relationship violence, available support resources, and bystander intervention prevention strategies from a panel of campus experts. Event is open to all but designed with Eagle Heights community members, graduate students, post doctoral researchers, and their family members in mind. Dinner provided with RSVP. Register online.

Expanding Campus Violence Prevention Efforts through GetWIse

Education is a key part of violence prevention efforts on campus. UHS’s violence prevention programs aim to increase the campus community’s knowledge, shape attitudes, and build the necessary skills to prevent violence before it occurs. All incoming undergraduate, transfer, and graduate students participate in required violence prevention programming, which empowers students to make healthy decisions, intervene in difficult situations, and learn about resources available to survivors on campus. 

GetWIse@Home, an online program required for incoming first-year undergraduate and transfer students, helps students explore violence prevention and survivor support topics. New in 2023, GetWIse@Home will be offered to all undergraduate students as an annual refresher course to reinforce violence prevention knowledge, awareness, and skills.

“These topics are not only a concern for first-year students,” says Sam Bowen, assistant director of violence prevention. “In fact, the risk of experiencing some form of sexual or relationship violence increases the longer a student has been on campus. Repeated opportunities for education on violence prevention will increase the effectiveness of our violence prevention strategy.” 

During their time in college, most students will know someone who has experienced sexual assault or dating violence. About 1 in 10 students at UW-Madison experiences some form of dating violence while in college, and around 1 in 6 experiences sexual assault. GetWIse@Home provides strategies for students to support a safer campus community by normalizing consent and bystander intervention and calling out entitlement, objectification, and boundary-crossing behavior.

GetWIse@Home offers four programs to choose from, including DatingWIse (healthy relationships and dating violence), SexWIse (healthy sex and sexual violence), ListenWIse (trauma and survivor support), and ActWIse (recognizing violence and bystander intervention). Students who are completing GetWIse as a refresher course can choose to retake a module they have previously taken or complete a new module.  

Learn more about GetWIse@Home and the four modules on the UHS website. Students can access the modules through the GetWIse@Home page on Canvas. 

Year-Round Survivor Support and Resources through UHS

UHS supports student survivors through coordinated advocacy, mental health, and medical services—including forensic nurse exams on-site—that are no-cost and confidential. You don’t have to label your experience to seek help from Survivor Services. Our survivor services team will validate your experience and care, while also sharing information and resources you might need, like referrals, accommodations, and reporting options.

Students can schedule an appointment to talk with an advocate and learn about their options by emailing survivorservices@uhs.wisc.edu, calling 608-265-5600 (option 3), or self-scheduling via the MyUHS portal. 

Learn more about UHS Survivor Services on our website.

Integrated Approach to Survivor Support 

UHS supports student survivors through coordinated medical, mental health, and advocacy services. The integrated team is expanding in response to student needs. Recent areas of growth include deepening support for survivors who hold marginalized identities – including students of color and students who identify as LGBTQIA+. There are also movements to make resources available within the campus community, outside of the UHS physical space – including support groups hosted at the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (GSCC) and Let’s Talk sessions in University Housing.

Survivor advocates at UHS are here to support student survivors and help them navigate campus resources. Services are always confidential and survivor-centered. Domestic and dating violence are just some of the many areas Survivor Services addresses. Patterns of power and control against an intimate partner may be physical, sexual, or psychological in nature.

Students can schedule an appointment to talk with an advocate and learn about their options by emailing survivorservices@uhs.wisc.edu, calling 608-265-5600 (option 3), or self-scheduling via the MyUHS portal. Learn more about Survivor Services Advocacy on our website. Advocates validate your experience and provide emotional support, while sharing information and resources you might need, like referrals, accommodations, and reporting options.

Ongoing Work in Violence Prevention 

UHS’s violence prevention strategy aims to increase the campus community’s knowledge about issues related to violence, shape attitudes, and build the necessary skills to prevent violence before it occurs. All incoming undergraduate, transfer, and graduate students participate in required violence prevention programming which empowers students to make healthy decisions, intervene in difficult situations, and learn about resources available to survivors on campus. UHS recognizes the vital role each student plays in creating a community of care that allows everyone to thrive. UHS acknowledges the invaluable contributions of anonymous donors to build capacity and carry out important work in preventing violence on UW-Madison’s campus. 

Recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month 

On Wednesday, October 19 University Health Services (UHS) is partnering with University Housing to host an event for the Eagle Heights community that will introduce the signs of domestic abuse and dating violence as well as the resources that are available to survivors on campus and in the community. Representatives from UHS Survivor Services and Violence Prevention will be present to speak to rights and resources, as well as introduce the Light in the Window campaign.

“While we work to prevent dating violence and support survivors all year round, October is an important time to focus our efforts to increase awareness of the issue,” says Sam Bowen, Assistant Director of Violence Prevention. “I encourage students to take care of one another by learning to recognize the signs of dating violence and supporting their peers with empathy.”