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.

Sexual Assault on College Campuses:

By Kathy Goater

Students Join Forces against Universities that Inadequately Respond to Sexual Violence.

Something new and exciting is occurring on our nation’s college campuses – victims of sexual assault are joining forces and filing collective complaints with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.  These multi-victim actions are aimed at making universities accountable for deterring sexual violence.  The complaints are designed to prompt investigations into the schools’ practices thereby precipitating change in how the schools respond, or alternatively will lead to lawsuits by the respective students.  For your information

Sexual violence on campuses isn’t new, nor is the failure of administrators to adequately respond to rape.  A campus where sexual violence is tolerated or permitted because of inadequate responses to complaints, effectively denies victims access to a full educational experience.

When a student is sexually assaulted and the university fails to properly respond to such complaints, the school can be liable to the victim under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.  Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program receiving federal funding.  Basically, when schools act with deliberate indifference to known acts of harassment in its programs or activities,  and victims thereby miss out on parts of their educational experience, the victims are being subjected to discrimination and the school can be held accountable.

In the past, students on an individual basis bravely took on universities on Title IX complaints.  Being the sole plaintiff suing a university can be an intimidating and difficult process.  In one case handled by my law firm, our client S.S. sued the University of Washington after she was raped by a member of the football team.  Her report to school authorities led her to a closed hearing where she was supposed to sit opposite the man who raped her and reach an accommodation with him.   The school took no meaningful action against the perp.  On hearing the case, the Washington Court of Appeals agreed that an inadequate response to rape by the University of Washington, has the potential to limit a victims access to education for which the school can be liable.  S.S. v Alexander, 177 P.3d 724 (2008).

Switching from a solo voice to that of a choir is the new tactic being used by victims of sexual violence at Occidental, Swarthmore and other universities.  Technology along with some creative thinking and verve led students collectively to complain and proceed against their schools.

Filing a Title IX group complaint, like the ones being filed at Swarthmore and Occidental, is a shift in the paradigm of how victims are using the avenues available to them to seek protection and redress.   It's brilliant – it's loud and clear – and it's causing quite a stir.  You have a group of over 30 victims of sexual assault, all complaining the same school is ignoring what’s happening or treating the offenders with a mere slap on the hand.  It puts the problem of sexual violence on campus front and center.

Hopefully these cases will be successful and those institutions that push victims to meet behind closed doors to work things out with the person who raped them, and fail to take any significant action against the perp will be forced to change.  Clear policies and procedures to deal harshly with sexual violence in universities is necessary so that campuses are safe.  Kudus to those victims who are participating in these cases and are willing to take a stand for the rights of current and future students.