I’m going to go with answering Question 4 about the guidance counsellor…. because above all his actions ticked me off most.
I was so very very angry at the idea that an adult, whose responsibility is to support vulnerable teenagers, thought the advice that boiled down to “just get over it” was in anyway appropriate.
I hated it because vulnerable people who reach out should never have to hear “get over it”; and I hated it because people who’ve been raped (especially by someone who doesn’t think they’ve even done anything wrong) need solutions not useless platitudes. They need to know it isn’t their fault, they need to know they are not alone and will be supported,
Regardless of whether criminal charges can be laid (because prosecutors aren’t fans of he said/she said), Mr Porter’s entire job is to support his students, especially the vulnerable ones. And in the moment when she was looking for support, his advice was to forget what happened and move on – like being raped was something minor that you just move past.
I realise that he had his own things going on at the time – but the simple intervention of “we should talk more about this tomorrow” or “you should come see me again so we can keep talking” would have helped her know that he was there for her, that even if he can’t help punish the rapist, he can help her and be there for her.
Once upon a time, I had a guidance counsellor like him. What I was going through does not compare to Hannah’s issues, but his lack of ability/want to help me was not good. I can only imagine the damage he did to students in my grade who were at a far greater risk that me.