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What To Do If You Are Sexual Assaulted Many sexual assaults go unreported because of the emotional trauma, embarrassment, or blame the survivor often feels. It is critical that you report the assault. You should report the assault to an official at the College and the College will take judicial and protective actions. The College will encourage you to report the assault to the Kalamazoo police and follow through with a criminal or civil case, but only if you are comfortable with this. It is strongly encouraged that you report the assault to the YWCA or police as soon as you are able.
If you have been sexually assaulted, it is recommended that you follow these steps: 2. Don’t change your clothes. Don’t take a bath, shower, urinate, or brush your teeth. 3. If furniture is overturned, leave it as it is. Don’t straighten up the area where the assault occurred. 4. If at all possible, write down everything that happened. Write down as much as you can remember, including quotes of what was said, the time and date that it happened, individuals involved, and any other important details. As emotionally difficult as this may be, writing down the incident while it is fresh in your mind can facilitate the process of personal coping and dealing with legal matters later on. If you do choose to report the rape and the case goes to court, having a document that you wrote including all the details and quotes will help your case.
5. On campus, you have the option of either calling security (7321) yourself or talking with your Residence Hall Assistant. If you are not comfortable talking with a peer, please call the Residence Hall Area Coordinator. The residence hall staff would be more than willing to help you to notify security. Your RA will assist you in getting the necessary medical attention immediately or you may seek medical attention on your own.
6. If you would prefer to talk with some one off-campus, call: 7. Bring a change of clothes to the hospital. Clothing worn during the assault may be collected as evidence. There are many reasons to go to the hospital: treatment of any external or internal injuries, prevention of pregnancy and some sexually transmitted diseases, collection of physical evidence that will aid in criminal prosecution, testing for “date rape drugs,” referral to support service, access to information regarding further HIV testing.
The physical exam is to collect evidence and to prevent pregnancy. It must be completed within 72 hours after the assault. Get to the hospital right away. Reporting Within The College It is crucial that you report the sexual assault to the College. By doing this, you may prevent a similar assault against one of your peers. Keep in mind that the sooner you decide to report, the better. When residence hall staff and security are called to help a survivor of sexual assault, they must report it to the Dean of Students. When the police can assist in identifying or arresting an accused assailant, the College will notify them. The police will collect physical evidence for the scene of the rape, which will help you keep open the option of prosecution. If the college does not notify the police, we will encourage you to do so. If you wish the College to take any action against the accused assailant, initiate this with the Dean of Students. Keep in mind that under the Clery Act and Title IX, if the perpetrator is identified, the Dean of Students is obligated by law to investigate the assault.
When you decide to take formal action within the College system, the Dean of Students and the Director of Security will ask you to give a detailed report of the incident with the name of the assailant, if known, and the names of all people who could substantiate your story and give important information. The student development staff will help you feel safe as possible by doing everything they can to restrict the accused assailant’s access to you. Because the College is obligated to protect due process rights of all students, other restrictions placed on the alleged assailant must await the results of an investigation and the decision of a judicial hearing. If you decide to take the complaint to a confidential hearing, the College will follow the judicial procedures under the sexual conduct hearing. They are as follows:
When the Kalamazoo police receive a report of sexual assault, officers are sent to determine if you need immediate medical care and to take you to the hospital emergency room, if within 72 hours of the assault. The doctors and nurses at the hospital will run a CSC (Criminal Sexual Conduct) kit. If you go directly to the hospital without calling the police first, the hospital will notify the police, who will in turn send an officer to the hospital. You are not required by law to answer any of their questions, but would be encouraged to do so to keep open the option of filing charges against your assailant. Officers will gather any form of evidence that may be present such as clothing. They will ask questions regarding the survivor’s description, what happened during the assault, the sex acts committed during the assault, and if any weapons were used or shown. The officer will be attempting to determine the degree of criminal sexual conduct. The officer or the YWCA can help you to better understand the process. (Information taken from Bacchus and Gamma pamphlet, "Healing the Harm, Sexual Assault on Campus," 2001). |