As a sexual health peer educator at Georgetown, Kathleen Kelley has talked with a lot of students trying to help their friends through the aftermath of a sexual assault. Over and over, she says, students in that position tell her they want to help, but they have no idea what to do. Now a new app may help them — and survivors themselves.

UASK DC, developed by the group Men Can Stop Rape in concert with Washington, DC city officials, will give students at the District's eight universities a way to access medical, legal, and counseling services geared toward rape survivors easily, from their smartphones. They'll also be able to find school-specific resources, like information about how to request time off from classes or other accommodations to help them heal. The app also includes a section to help users talk to friends and loved ones who have experienced sexual assault.

Men Can Stop Rape and student groups will be encouraging students to download the free app at the start of the school year, at the same time they put campus safety phone numbers in their phones. And Rachel Friedman, Deputy Director of Men Can Stop Rape, says positioning the app as a way for students to help friends might get more of them to download it. UASK is a resource most students probably hope they'll never need, and some may be reluctant to download something that feels like planning for a future assault. But Friedman says, "what we can say is, 'do it for a friend, have this information handy in case someone who you know is struggling with this issue and needs resources.' That could make a huge difference in someone's life."