Govert van Ginkel & Edwin Rutsch: Survivors of Sexual Assault and Building a Culture of Empathy

Govert van Ginkel is speaker, trainer, coach, facilitator and mediator who is experienced in many different processes. He has a background as a lawyer.

Govert says, "We thrive on connection and some even say we are hard wired for connection, yet it can seem so hard to do when you need it most. Empathy is the missing link. Empathy will help you support yourself and connect with others in situations in which you normally would feel lost."

 We held two discussions, first we reviewed step by step, his article, Practical Empathy: As it applied to Survivors of Sexual Assault. He says, "Empathy is a scare commodity in general and specifically when you are the victim of a crime. Practical application of empathy can make an enormous difference in the outcome for both the victim/survivor of a crime, the effectiveness of police and justice department, as well as, for all others involved." In the second hour, we had a free style discussion about the nature of empathy and how to foster it.

Sub Conference: NVC