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Get Help

If you or another member of USF community is in immediate danger, call 911.

The University of Sioux Falls is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy environment where all members of the community – students, faculty, staff, volunteers, and visitors are treated with respect and dignity. The health and safety of campus community members is USF’s primary concern. 

Survivors of Domestic/Dating Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking may experience similar forms of abuse. However, the response to trauma often varies from person to person. A victim/survivor of Domestic/Dating Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking may experience many conflicting emotions including shock, fear, anger, guilt, shame or numbness. Each survivor's response is unique and valid. 

Examples of various responses in action:

  • Decrease or increase in appetite
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Decrease in self-care
  • Increase in irritability & anger
  • Withdrawal/Isolation
  • Increase in anxiety
  • Forgetfulness
  • Ongoing fatigue
Confidential Support & Help

University of Sioux Falls has support resources with professional and legal mandates to protect the confidentiality of individuals who utilize their services. These services are not required to report what is shared with them to USF or law enforcement, except when, in the judgment of these professionals, such disclosure is necessary to protect you or someone else from imminent danger. 

Community & State Resources

The Compass Center

The Compass Center provides crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy to children, adolescents, and adults who are survivors of domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking/sexual exploitation. All survivor services are free and confidential, and the organization does not discriminate on any basis.

1704 S Cleveland Ave, Suite 3
Sioux Falls, SD 57103
605.339.0116
info@thecompasscenter.og 

Children's Inn

Children’s Inn provides free and confidential services for women, children, and men who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, or neglect. From Emergency Shelter to Outreach and Advocacy, their services focus on helping individuals who have experienced violence heal.

409 N Western Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605.338.4880
childrensinn@chssd.org 

South Dakota Coalition Ending Domestic and Sexual Violence

The SDCEDSV believes violence against women and their children results from the use of force or threat to achieve and maintain control over others in intimate relationships and societal abuses of power and domination in the forms of sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, anti-semitism, ablebodyism, ageism, and other oppressions. The SDCEDSV recognizes the abuse of power in society fosters battering and rape by perpetuating conditions that condone violence. Therefore, it is the mission of SDCEDSV to work for the major societal changes necessary to eliminate all forms of oppression, particularly those aimed at women and their children.

122 E. Sioux Ave., Suite D
Peirre SD, SD 57501
1.605.945.0869
 

National Resources

National Resources

Medical Considerations

Victim/survivors may wish to seek medical attention. When you seek medical care promptly, along with treating injuries, your provider can test for pregnancy and STIs/STDs (sexually transmitted infections/sexually transmitted diseases), such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital warts, human papillomavirus (HPV), genital herpes, and syphilis.

If non-consensual choking or strangling was involved in the incident, then a medical provider can examine the area for injury and outline steps for recovery.

A forensic examination can also secure valuable evidence that could be used later if a person wishes to involve law enforcement. Physical evidence may exist up to five (5) days, or longer, after a sexual assault or rape, though individuals are recommended to receive an examination as soon as possible. Local medical facilities can arrange to have a specially trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) conduct a forensic examination, which collects evidence from a person’s body, clothes, and other belongings. A trained advocate can meet a victim/survivor at the hospital to provide emotional support, which would be arranged by the hospital. The results of this examination can be provided to law enforcement anonymously. The choice to report is always in the hands of the victim/survivor.

  • Avera-Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) Avera McKennan Hospital Emergency Room, 1325 Cliff Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105

When a sexual assault or relationships violence victim/survivor seeks treatment at the hospital, the county in which the crime was committed will pay for the exam. Other charges may be covered by victim compensation.