Online help now available for victims of abuse

September 5, 2006

By MARY AMES/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Instant messaging now provides real-time confidential counseling to victims of assault, sexual assault and abuse, through a pilot program sponsored by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

The Online Hotline is available from noon to 2 p.m. in Alaska, and was designed for a person who might go to a counselor, but for some reason is more comfortable in an online situation.

Betsy Woodin, director of outreach with Alaska Family Services, trained with RAINN to be an online counselor. For the past couple of weeks, Woodin has spent two hours a week, Monday through Friday, helping victims of abuse who have access to a computer and seek help.

The secure anonymity of the system means nobody knows Woodin, who may or may not be the kind person typing answers to questions. And Woodin and the other counselors around the country have no idea who is typing in the words they read on their computer screens.

&#8220This really gives an opportunity to people who don't even want to say the words,” Woodin said. &#8220This is the same person who might go to a help line or counselor. Most likely, we are not their first contact.”

Quite often, Woodin said, callers are college students.

With her experience, some of the 10-hour training offered by RAINN was review, but Woodin learned technical pieces about computer safety, something not normally part of her work experience.

&#8220If we have a person communicating and the perpetrator is in the home, if she deleted cookies, he might know” she said. &#8220I wouldn't have thought about that before.”

Callers log onto www.rainn.org and are placed in a virtual waiting room until a trained volunteer is available. Like a brick-and-mortar waiting room, the Online Hotline waiting room is full of resource materials, including information about recovery, medical issues, the criminal justice process, local resources and support for family and friends of victims, according to the Web site.

If the victim on the other end of the online connection types in a zip code, Woodin can pull up a list of resources available in that area and pass on referrals and hot links to agencies close by.

Woodin said the online counseling has been a learning experience in other ways, also.

&#8220There are no intonation clues,” she said. &#8220It is harder to convey feelings. There's no warm voice or a way to mimic gestures. I try to be responsive with words.”

Another difference from the face-to-face contact is the time lag, which can make communications feel disjointed. Younger people are often more comfortable with frequent short messages. But the differences don't matter much to Woodin.

&#8220This is for them,” she said. &#8220It's their opportunity to share.”

While the program is limited in time now, RAINN has plans in place for the Online Hotline to go into a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week operation sometime in September.

&#8220Right now, the problem is coverage,” Woodin said. &#8220They're trying to get everyone through training and give them the opportunity to role play.”

When that happens, the most difficult part for Woodin won't be an issue any longer.

&#8220The hardest part was it ended,” she said. &#8220It just stops.”

Knowing that, Woodin can get the important contacts to the victim in time.

&#8220In real life, I would have been able to transfer her to a shift operator,” she said.

Victims who would prefer the anonymity of online help can find it at www.rainn.org/ news/ohl-get-help-now.html.

&#8220They are anonymous, with screen names,” Woodin said. &#8220It's impersonal, but assault is very personal. If they are comfortable, we can talk.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.