Faqs
Some Facts About Sexual Assault:
ACCORDING TO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (2013), 270,000 FEMALES, 12 YEARS AND OLDER WERE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED IN 2010
78% OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS are perpetrated by a NON-STRANGER
38% OF RAPISTS are a FRIEND OR ACQUAINTANCE
34% are an INTIMATE PARTNER
6% are a RELATIVE
Victims of Sexual Assault are:
• 3 times more likely to suffer from depression
• 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder
• 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol
• 26 times more likely to abuse drugs
• 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide AND:
• 67% of sexual assault victims are under 18
• 34% are under 12
• 14% are under 6 OUT OF EVERY 100 RAPES
• 36 get reported to law enforcement
• 12-19 leads to an arrest
• 8 get prosecuted
• 4 lead to a felony conviction
What should I do if I am sexually assaulted?
1. FOR HELP: Call 911, contact your local police agency, go to the hospital or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-hope (4673).
2. Remember, it was NOT your fault.
3. Find a safe environment. Ask a friend to stay with you.
4. Try to preserve evidence. Do not bathe, brush your teeth, eat or drink anything.
5. If you had any altered level of consciousness, urinate in a clean container and bring the urine with you. Try not to wipe after urinating.
6. Do not wash the clothes you were wearing. If you have changed clothes, bring the clothes you were wearing to the hospital with you.
7. Write down details of the attack.
What will happen at the SART / DART Center?
1. The forensic nurse examiner and advocate counselor will be called to the SART Center, a private, nonintrusive environment in the hospital.
2. The advocate counselor will be available to provide support and counseling throughout the process.
3. The forensic nurse examiner will provide compassionate care, while performing a comprehensive medical-legal exam, documenting statements and injuries while using state-of-the-art technology in forensic digital photography, to preserve evidence.
4. The forensic nurse examiner will offer medications to prevent sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. Referrals to the Emergency Department will be provided if necessary.
5. Following the exam, advocate counselors will provide private crisis counseling and referrals for ongoing mental health care.
What will happen after the exam?
1. You will be discharged from the SART Center to a place that you feel safe.
2. The forensic evidence and legal report will be turned over to the police detective for investigation.
3. You will be contacted by the detective for more details about the case.
4. The detective will present the case to the District Attorney. The District Attorney will contact you if the case goes to trial.
5. Stay in contact with your advocate. They will be a continuous resource for any help or questions you may have
Check out the link for more detailed information about the forensic exam :
https://advancingjustice-la.org/blog/sart-exams-crucial-survivors-recovery-and-police-investigations#.W7KelGhKi-Y
Know your Rights! : SUPPORTING LAWS
The Federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) created two additional federal rights for sexual assault victims:
(1) The sexual assault victim has the right to a forensic medical exam at no cost to the victim, and (2) The sexual assault victim can have a forensic medical exam without obligation to participate with law enforcement or in the criminal justice proceeding. This became effective in California on January 1, 2012 with Senate Bill 534. PENAL CODE 264.2 states all victims have a right to a rape crisis advocate and support person of their choice during the sexual assault evidentiary exam or physical exam. FAMILY CODE 6927 AND 6928 allows minors 12-17 years of age to consent or decline a medical exam, treatment, and evidence collection for sexual assault without parental consent.
Overcoming these Barriers
1. Prolonged time between the assault and forensic exam.
2. Not wanting perpetrator to go to jail.
3. Fears retaliation.
4. Feels law enforcement would be insensitive or blame her/him for assault.
5. Does not want anyone to know as ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED.
6. Feels would NOT BE BELIEVED.
7. Feels RESPONSIBLE for sexual assault.
8. Believes law enforcement COULD NOT or WOULD NOT do anything to help.
9. Does not want to GET IN TROUBLE.
10. Distrusts law enforcement and/or in the legal system.
11. Does not think it was serious enough to be labeled a crime.
12. Wishes to handle it alone.
13. Was drinking alcohol.
14. Is FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT on the perpetrator.
IT STILL IS IMPORTANT TO REPORT
RAPE : Myths and Facts
MYTH: Sexual assault is frequently the result of miscommunication or a mistake.
FACT: Sexual assault is a crime, never simply a mistake. It is not due to a miscommunication between two people. Sexual assault is any unwelcomed sexual contact obtained without consent through the use of force, threat of force, intimidation, or coercion.
MYTH: The victim must have “asked for it” by being reckless, seductive, and/or under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
FACT: No one asks to be assaulted, wounded, or humiliated. This way of thinking blames the victim for the assault instead of the perpetrator.
MYTH: Women lie about being raped or use it to get even with their boyfriends.
FACT: Women do not lie about being raped with any more frequency than men or women lie about any other crime. Survivors do not normally lie about being raped. Only 36% of sexual assaults are reported and it is considered the most under-reported crime, according to National Crime Victimization Survey.
MYTH: Acquaintance rape is a less serious event than a stranger rape.
FACT: An acquaintance rape is just as serious as a stranger rape. Victims experience the same degree of trauma.
MYTH: If the victim did not physically struggle or fight back, it is not really rape.
FACT: Rapists are not looking for a fight. Offenders use many different ways to threaten and coerce in order to rape. Many rape victims do not fight back because they are fearful and feel they need to cooperate to not be harmed further.
MYTH: Most victims of rape are sexually assaulted by strangers.
FACT: 78% of sexual assaults are committed by someone that the victim knows: a friend, partner, ex-partner, acquaintance, next door neighbor, co-worker, school mate, or spouse. Whereas, 22% of rapes are committed by strangers.
MYTH: Men rape because they are sexually excited and sexually denied.
FACT: The reasons men rape are complex. Rape is about power, control, and the ability to humiliate, degrade and cause pain.
MYTH: Men who rape have mental illness.
FACT: Very few rapists have mental illness. They are most often people whom we know and trust.
ALCOHOL & SUBSTANCES RAPE myths & facts
MYTH: If a woman did not drink excessively, she would not have been sexually assaulted.
FACT: Alcohol is a device that some perpetrators use to manipulate their victim and make them helpless. These offenders may encourage alcohol use by the victim, or they may seek out a person who is already intoxicated. Alcohol does not cause rape.
FACT: Research demonstrates that alcohol use is associated with 50-72% of all campus sexual assaults. Many drugs like Ecstasy, Rohypnol, Ketamine, and GHB can be used to render a victim to be helpless as well.
MALE SURVIVOR myths & facts
MYTH: Only gay men are sexually assaulted.
FACT: Gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men are all just as likely to be sexually assaulted. One’s current or future sexual orientation has nothing to do with being sexually assaulted. One’s sexual orientation has no more to do with being sexually assaulted than being robbed.
MYTH: Only gay men sexually assault other men.
FACT: Most offenders who sexually assault other men characterize themselves as heterosexual. This fact helps to emphasize another reality– that sexual abuse is about anger, violence, and power over another person, not desire or sexual attraction.
MYTH: Sexual abuse is less harmful for boys than for girls.
FACT: The long term effects of sexual abuse can be quite damaging for both genders. The harm mostly depends on things not determined by gender (e.g., identity of abuser, duration of assault, whether victim told anyone, and whether the victim was believed and helped).
MYTH: A man cannot be sexually assaulted by a woman.
FACT: Although the majority of offenders are male, a man can be sexually assaulted by a woman.
MYTH: Sexual arousal such as an erection or ejaculation during a sexual assault means the victim consented or “really wanted it.”
FACT: These are physiological responses that may result from physical contact or even severe stress. Sexual offenders are aware how these responses can control and discourage reporting of the crime. These responses also confuse victims which can lead to feelings of shame and/or guilt
