What To Do If You Become A Victim Of Campus Sexual Assault

If you’ve just been sexually assaulted:

  1. Get to a safe place.
  1. Contact someone who can help you, a friend, the police, a relative, the campus counseling or sexual assault services center, anyone you can trust.  Ask her or him to meet with you for a while.
  1. Do not shower, drink, eat, douche, urinate, or change your clothes, if you plan to make a police report.  If you must urinate, try to capture the urine in a plastic or glass cup for evidence testing.  If you must change clothes, put the items in separate paper bags, again to be used in evidence testing.   Do not use plastic bags; they contaminate evidence.  Try not to disturb the scene, if the assault occurred in your residence.
  1. The first two decisions that need to be made are whether you will report the crime (all sexual assaults are crimes) to the police and to obtain medical attention.
    1. The Police:  Reporting a crime can help you regain a sense of personal power and control.  It can also help to ensure the safety of other potential victims.  If you report the assault within 72 hours, in most localities the police will take your statement and you will be entitled to a forensic/evidentiary medical examination at no expense to you.  To report the assault, call 911.  The police can either take you to the hospital or meet you there.

Regardless of whether or not you call the police or press charges, academic and judicial intervention may be available to you.

    1. Medical Attention:  It is important to receive medical attention, whether or not you plan to report the crime to police.  You may have received injuries of which you are not aware.  Also a doctor or nurse can examine you and give you information about possibility of pregnancy and the risk of exposure to sexually transmitted diseases. 

If you want to make a police report. A complete forensic examination will be performed at the local hospital.   They include good medical attention as well as the collection of evidence specimens. They are sometimes called PERK exams and may be provided by a specialized nurse called a SANE nurse.  Or an emergency room nurse or doctor will perform this exam for you. 

If you do not make a police report, you may not be entitled to this forensic exam, but you can choose to have a medical exam at the Student Health Center on campus.  This exam will not collect evidence, but it will examine you for any health risks that you may have encountered during the sexual assault.

  1. If you suspect that you may have been given a date rape drug (such as Rohypnol, GHB, Ketamine, or Valium), ask the hospital or clinic to take a urine sample as soon as possible.  These drugs quickly pass through the body once ingested.
  1. As soon as you have a quiet moment, write down everything that you remember happening during the sexual assault, including a description of the assailant.
  1. Talk with a counselor or victim advocate who is trained to assist sexual assault victims about the emotional, physical, and legal impact of an assault.  You may contact the campus or community crisis counseling center or the national hotline RAINN (1-800-656-HOPE) for a referral to someone in your area.
  1. If you want information about legal issues, medical care, or other concerns related to the assault, a sexual assault hotline can help a great deal.
  1. Remember:  The assault was not your fault!  You are not to blame!

If you’ve been sexually assaulted some time ago:

  1. You may just now be realizing that you still have options available to you.
  1. Medical attention may still be needed for treatment of physical symptoms.
  1. Seek counseling.  Unresolved experiences of sexual assault can have long-term psychological and social effects.
  1. Consult with a campus or community sexual assault center or counseling center to explore the following options:
    1. Reporting the incident to the police
    2. Pursuing campus judicial intervention
    3. Academic or administrative intervention
    4. Medical care
    5. Your emotional well-being

REMEMBER THAT SEXUAL ASSAULT IS NEVER THE VICTIM’S FAULT.  RESOURCES ARE THERE FOR YOU.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

GET SUPPORT.

IT TAKES TIME TO HEAL.

If you feel that your sexual assault is not being dealt with in a professional manner – treating you with respect, informing you of all your options – please contact Security on Campus, Inc. at 1-888-251-7959.

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