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What to Do If You Have Been Sexually Assaulted
Get to a safe place immediately.
After experiencing a traumatizing event such as
rape, it is important to find a place where you feel comfortable
and safe from harm. This location could be a friend's room,
the police station, or the local hospital.
Call the police as soon as possible.
If you are on campus and call 911, Public Safety
will respond to your call. If you are off campus and call 911,
local police will respond to your call. By calling the police,
you are reporting the crime that was committed against you,
as well as seeking the protection of the police.
Call someone who can be with you.
If you do not want to call a friend or a family
member to accompany you to the hospital or police station,
an advocate from Campus Advocates Against Sexual Violence (CAASV)
(439-4841) or an advocate from the Sexual Assault Response
Center (928-4710) can respond. If after 4:30 p.m. or on the
weekend, an advocate from CAASV may be contacted through the
Public Safety office (439-4480).
Preserve all physical evidence.
If possible, do not bathe, shower, douche, eat,
drink, smoke, urinate, brush your teeth, or change your clothes.
Do not disturb anything in the area where the assault occurred.
You may destroy evidence. If you have changed your clothes,
take the clothes you were wearing at the time of the rape to
the hospital in a paper bag. (Plastic may destroy evidence.)
Seek medical attention.
You may have sustained injuries from the attack
or contracted a sexually transmitted disease; therefore, the
sooner you seek medical attention the better. The Student Health
Clinic can provide medical care during the hours of 8 a.m.-4
p.m. Monday-Friday. During non-business hours or for the purpose
of evidence collection, the local hospital emergency room is
preferred. Emergency room personnel can treat you not only
for injuries and sexually transmitted diseases, but also can
administer a Physical Evidence Recovery Kit (PERK), which gathers
the physical evidence in the event that you decide to pursue
an investigation.
Seek follow-up counseling.
Whether or not you report the assault or prosecute, a trained
counselor can help you deal with the emotional trauma of
an assault. You may call Campus Advocates Against Sexual
Violence at 439-4841 and ask to speak to an advocate. CAASV
services are strictly confidential.
Dealing With the Aftermath: Survivor Assistance
niversity personnel will assist any student who is the victim
of a sex offense in notifying law enforcement, in obtaining
medical assistance, and in pursuing counseling. If a student
requests a change in her/his academic or on-campus living
situation, then the university will accommodate the student's
request if those changes are reasonably available.
University Disciplinary Procedures
There are several options available to a student who was
assaulted by another student. In addition to bringing charges
against the perpetrator in criminal or civil court, the survivor
also may seek recourse through the university disciplinary
process.
Sexual battery or rape, in addition to being a violation
of state law, also is violation of ETSU Student Disciplinary
Rules. If a survivor initiates campus disciplinary action,
both the accuser and the accused will be informed of the
following:
- The accuser and the accused are entitled to the same
opportunities to have others present during a hearing.
- Both the accuser and the accused will be informed of
the outcome of any institutional disciplinary hearing brought
alleging a sex offense.
In order to bring charges of sexual battery or rape against
another student, a student must initiate the judicial process
by contacting the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs
at 439-6129. (For more information about the university disciplinary
process, please refer to the section on "Policies and Regulations" in
the student handbook, the Spectrum, which may be found
in the campus telephone directory.)
If the accused student is found guilty of the alleged sex
offense, suspension or expulsion from the university may
occur.
The Accuser's Rights
During the course of the disciplinary proceeding, accusers
have the following rights:
- To meet with the appropriate judicial officer to discuss
the disciplinary process.
- To submit a written account of the alleged incident.
- To be advised of the date, time and location of the
disciplinary hearing, and to request rescheduling of the
hearing for a good cause.
- To be accompanied by an advisor of the accuser's choosing
during the hearing process, although the advisor will not
be permitted to speak for the accuser during the hearing.
- To testify as a witness during the hearing.
- To decline to testify, with the knowledge that such
action could result in dismissal of the university's charges
for lack of evidence.
- To submit a written impact statement to the hearing
panel for consideration during the sanctioning phase of
the disciplinary process.
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