Victim Advocacy

Visit the SHARE website

Visit Cornell's Sexual Harassment & Assault – Response & Education (SHARE) website for more information about getting care, reporting an incident, helping a friend, or getting involved in sexual violence prevention efforts on campus: 
share.cornell.edu.
 

About the SHARE Office Victim Advocacy program

The Victim Advocacy Program provides assistance to members of the Cornell community who are victims of harmful, threatening, or violent incidents.

Advocates support individuals who have experienced:

  • Sexual assault or rape
  • Violent or potentially violent relationships
  • Stalking
  • Harassment
  • Physical or emotional/mental assault
  • Bias-related incidents
  • Hazing
  • Related types of victimization

Learn more about the Victim Advocacy program:

[Victim Advocacy video transcript]

See our Health Topics section for more resources related to Assault & Harassment, Hazing, Concern for Others, and other topics.

Victim advocacy services

Cornell’s confidential Victim Advocates are trained staff members affiliated with the SHARE Office in the Skorton Center for Health Initiatives.

Advocates provide:

  • Personal support and an opportunity to talk about what happened
  • Information and answers to questions about options and resources
  • Help thinking through and deciding on a course of action
  • Connection with campus, community, and state resources for counseling, advising , or reporting
  • Connection with University offices (when appropriate, advocates can work with faculty and staff)

The Victim Advocacy service is free, and designed to help each individual pursue the course of action they feel is best for them.  

Confidentiality: Conversations with a Victim Advocate are confidential and do not commit you to any future action. Discussions with an Advocate do not constitute making a report or filing a formal complaint. An Advocate will not contact academic or university staff, parents, or others without the client's consent. To assure privacy, the office does not keep formal records for Cornell Health or the University.

Referrals: The Advocates may need to refer the following inquires to other resources: victims of robberies or crimes against property; parties involved in tenant/landlord disputes; roommate / housemate differences or quarrels; and those who feel they've been treated unfairly by professors, teaching assistants, or supervisors within the academic environment.

Contact an Advocate

Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

To schedule an appointment (in person, by phone, or by Zoom), please email victimadvocate@cornell.edu (note: email is not a secure form of communication for private or confidential information), or leave a voicemail message at 607-255-1212. Though this is not a crisis service, we strive to return messages promptly and schedule appointments as soon as possible.

Emergencies: In an emergency or other crisis situation, call 911, or the Cornell Police at 607-255-1111.

Support from CAPS

If you are interested in seeking mental health support for a recent sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact, you can reach out directly to a Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) counselor who specializes in supporting survivors.

To do so, log in to myCornellHealth and select “Appointments” and then “Mental Health appointment.” You will be given the option to send a message to a sexual violence response counselor, who will follow up with you directly to schedule an appointment.  

Other resources  

See also ...