 My name is Ann DePrince. I'm a professor of psychology at the University of Denver, and I do research on sexual assault. I'm here today to ask you to start by believing. From research in Denver and around the country, we know that people who perpetrate sexual assault count on silence and doubt. They sow seeds of doubt in victims' minds about what happened. They depend on all of us to buy into myths about sexual assault, that it was somehow the victim's fault for where they were, what they were wearing, what they had had to drink. Now the antidote to that kind of silencing and doubt is to start by believing. Believing means we listen with compassion, without judgment, without doubting. And when we start by believing, we're more likely to help survivors get the access to the kinds of resources they might need. Maybe medical attention, help from law enforcement, maybe the crisis line at the blue bench. When we start by believing, we help keep open doors to justice for thorough investigations, for due process. And most importantly, we help keep open opportunities for survivors to make choices about the next steps in their healing. Now the costs of not believing don't make the headlines. But those costs are really high. Perpetrators can continue to sexually assault. Survivors might be left on their own to grapple with the very real consequences of sexual assault. Things like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, even suicidality. So what can you do? Well, we asked more than 200 survivors of sexual assault in Denver what it was like when they disclosed what happened to them and what advice they have for people responding to sexual assault. And here are three things you should know. First, you should know that when victims disclose, commonly friends, family loved ones respond by treating them differently, blaming them for what happened, even taking control away from them by making decisions for them. You can do better. You can start by believing and focusing on helping survivors make choices about the resources that they may want or need. Second, you should know that survivors might need different kinds of things in the aftermath of sexual assault. Some might need help with academic work if they're in school. Others might need medical services. Some may need psychological support. Others might need information about what it's like to make a report to the police. Now, survivors should always be in the driver's seat when it comes to making decisions about the resources they want and the steps they want to take. What you can do is understand what kinds of resources and options are available in our community so that you can be part of giving accurate information to survivors so that they can make informed choices about the next steps that they want to take. Third, you can respond with compassion and without judgment. Now, when people disclose sexual assault and the kinds of responses they get are judgments and questioning, it's really likely that survivors are going to shut down, that they might not tell anyone else what happened, that they might not ask for help when they need it. You can respond with compassion and show survivors that it can be okay. It can be safe to disclose what happened, that it's okay to ask for help, that they are not alone. Now, lots of us can feel helpless and overwhelmed when we confront the realities of sexual assault in our communities. But here's your superpower. You can start by believing. You can be a force for keeping doors open to justice and healing. You can be the person who champions getting access to information and resources for survivors so that they can make choices in their healing process. You can be part of saying, in our community, we do not tolerate sexual assault. We do not stand by as victims and survivors or silenced. Instead, we each step up to champion that we start by believing.