Your friend may have medical, emotional, or legal concerns, and they can provide a safe and confidential place to talk about it. This answers our question today directly. If you need help helping your friend, or if you are having trouble coping yourself with the idea of a friend being assaulted, a counselor will be more than happy to talk with you. Listening is the most important thing you can do. There are lots of different feelings that need to be expressed, like anger at the guy and blaming herself.
Friends often have difficulty with listening when the feelings get intense.
Most often folks rush in with advice to manage feelings. But it takes time to work through the feelings that accompany the story, and this is one reason why people who experience a trauma need to talk about it many times even after everyone is well familiar with the details. This requires that friends be supportive over time. This is different than just having a shoulder to cry on. Sexual assaults are more than just losses, they have a traumatic component, and this is why they challenge friends on how to be there and how to be supportive.