What do I do if I'm Raped?
/By Kathy Goater
Call the Police – Tell Someone. It’s understandable if you've been attacked that your instinct might be to try to disappear and pretend like it never happened. Sorry folks – it doesn't work. Eventually that personal assault to the core of your being will fester and break out. Why not avoid all the self-imposed feelings of guilt, loss of self-worth, and loss of confidence and get on the front end of the issue. Rape is a crime - it’s not the fault of the victim. The perpetrator is the person to be distained.
I was a prosecutor for 20 years so I am biased, but I am a proponent of reporting assaults to the police. Sometimes the police have their own bias, other times their ability to take action can be hampered by the absence of evidence. But if you are vocal and report as soon as possible, they have a better chance of being able to do an effective investigation so that the perp can be held accountable. At the end of the day – it’s the outcome everyone wants. You as the victim and we as a community.
What Should I Expect if I call the Police?
A uniformed officer likely will respond and take a short statement from you and make sure you are safe. Hopefully the initial report to the police will be referred to a detective who specializes in the investigation of sexual assaults. The detective will interview you to obtain a detailed statement of what happened. If you’ve been recently assaulted, or if the victim is a child, you will be referred to a medical facility for care and for collection of evidence.
You may hear the term “rape kit” - this is the process whereby a medical provider examines a rape victim and collects potential evidence such as semen, saliva, and DNA by swabbing those areas where such excretions might be present. When a rape is committed by an unidentified person, the police will also want to collect hair samples – head and pubic - so that stray hairs at the crime scene or on the victims clothing can be eliminated as coming from the victim and the donor identified. A rape exam can be unnerving. Understanding the reason for it may help.
The case detective will do an investigation that should include interviewing witnesses and searching the crime scene for potential evidence. Search warrants (an application by the detective to a judge for permission to search private areas for potential evidence) may be obtained in this process. Phone, texting, and computer records might be among those items the police want to seize. Eventually the detective will make a decision whether prosecution of the case is feasible. If it is, the case will be sent to the prosecutor’s office for the filing of charges. In cases involving children the police are required to submit the investigation to the prosecutor’s office for their decision on going forward with charges. If the victim is an adult, the police have more discretion whether to submit the case to the prosecutor for review. If the victim is notified that no charges are to be filed, the option of suing the perpetrator in a civil case may still be viable.
What are My Alternatives to Criminal Prosecution?
A victim of sexual abuse may have a viable civil lawsuit, if someone could have stopped the crime from happening in the first place -- for example, a nursing home, church, school, hospital, or government agency. Even if the perpetrator was never charged, or many years have passed since the abuse stopped, it may not be too late to seek relief in the courts. While money can't erase what happened, compensation helps people get their lives back on track, receive long-term counseling, recover lost wages, and often, achieve a sense of closure.
