The Role of the Advocate

The responsibilities of the Campus Advocate in providing victim services on a College or University campus are multifaceted and comprehensive yet individualized in their approach. It requires strategic thinking, effective communication, relationship building, coordination, strong interpersonal skills, acute knowledge of federal, state, local, and campus policies, planning and program development skills, and intense crisis and trauma counseling and management responses. The Campus Advocate serves as a broker for on-and off-campus resources and referral sources. Campus Advocates are the voice for survivors, a source of information, a skilled support counselor and case manager, comfortable with program development, and systems engineering responsible for building a positive, safe, and violence-free campus culture. Therefore, the Campus Advocate must be able to develop and sustain relationships with campus partners, community partners, and students to prevent and effectively respond to interpersonal violence on campus.