Beginning in October, Emmons Wellness Center will resume Survivors Circle, a confidential support group for student survivors of sexual assault to reflect on and work towards healing from their trauma. The group will be facilitated by Emmons Staff Therapist and Training Coordinator, Dr. Paloma Franco, who said she plans to select a regular meeting time and location for the group in the coming weeks based on the needs of participants.
“Survivors Circle is a safe and confidential space for survivors on campus,” Franco said. “A safe space to heal, recover from trauma [and] reestablish some safety while connecting with others and being able to share experiences”
According to Franco, Survivors Circle will meet for 45 minutes weekly, discussing content designed to fit the needs of participants.
“The specific content will depend on students’ needs and what’s coming up [emotionally] for them,” Franco said via email. “The general content that I plan to cover [includes] practicing self-care during times of crisis, mindfulness and trauma healing.”
According to Lizzy Denny, Project SAFE Director and Survivor Advocate, this will be Franco’s first year facilitating the group but not her first time working on issues of sexual assault at Occidental. Denny said she facilitated the group last year.
“[Franco] has a lot of background in working with survivors, especially in a mental health capacity,” Denny said. “So it just made sense with Project SAFE’s limited capacity to ask her to [facilitate].”
Survivors Circle will work to combat the dismissal of trauma that survivors so often experience — internally, within their social spheres, and on a societal level, Denny said.
“Being a survivor of any kind of violence, but especially intimate partner violence, sexual violence, stalking [or] harassment, is a very isolating experience,” Denny said. “When an individual is a survivor of violence, they often start second guessing themselves, as society often teaches them to do.”
To combat this isolation, Denny said, Survivor Circle offers a unique outlet for participants to build connections and process the experience of their trauma in a communal environment — both the experience where they encountered violence, and the ongoing intersectional experience of being a student and a survivor.
Taylor Rokala (senior), a member of the Occidental Sexual Assault Coalition (OSAC), said on a campus like Occidental, it is essential for resources like Survivors Circle to be available for students.
“Oxy is such a small campus where it is impossible not to see people everywhere,” Rokala said. “If a survivor is dealing with an abuser on campus, having a designated safe space where they can talk about their feelings and share with other people that are experiencing the same thing is really important.”
Part of the Survivors Circle model is guaranteed confidentiality for participants, which does have some legal limits, Franco said.
“I meet with [participants] prior to the group starting and talk about what [confidentiality] means for them, and what it means to be in a confidential space,” Franco said. “It’s also so that they’re aware that what is talked about in that room with the other members is not leaving.”
Franco said that anyone interested in the Survivors Circle should contact her with questions, but they would be under no future obligation to participate in the group.
“I think it’s important for students to be able to choose whether or not they want to be part of this group,” Franco said.
Denny and Franco both encourage students to get support when they are ready, but to take as much time as they desire.
“It can be really scary and emotionally draining to reach out for resources,” Denny said. “Give yourself time. You get to decide when or if you access resources, and there’s no timeline on getting support […] we’re here for you.”
Contact Estel Garrido-Spencer at garridospenc@oxy.edu
