What is Sexual Assault? Sexual assault is any unwanted or coerced sexual contact. Because many people believe that only forcible rape by a stranger is sexual assault, victims sometimes blame themselves for the feelings they have after the assault. Understanding what assault is can help survivors of assault understand why they feel the way they do. And it can help people recognize behaviors that are against the law.

What is Sexual Assault? Types of Sexual Assault Myths and Facts of Sexual Assault Old Dominion Sexual Assault Policy Procedures for Reporting a Sexual Assault Sexual Assault Statistics

Rape- Sexual intercourse against a woman's will, by force, threat or intimidation of or against another person (such as a child); or through use of a person's mental incapacity or physical helplessness

Forcible sodomy- Anal or oral sex against a person's will

Forcible object penetration- Penetrating someone's vagina or anus, or causing that person to penetrate her or himself, against that person's will

Marital rape- Sexual intercourse against a spouse's will by force, threat or intimidation of or against another person (such as a child)

Unwanted sexual touching-

Statutory rape- Sexual contact with minors whether consensual or not

Incest -

Any unwanted or coerced sexual contact

Statement: Sexual Assault is defined as rape; forcible sodomy; sexual penetration with an inanimate object; fondling or touching of an unwilling person's intimate parts (genitalia, groin, breast or buttocks, covered or uncovered); or forcing an unwilling person to touch another's intimate parts. Included in the offense of any of these acts are persons known to the victim, as well as persons unknown to the victim. The offending acts can be committed through the use of force, the threat of force, by intimidation, or not forcibly or against the person's will if the victim is incapable of giving consent due to the substantiated use of alcohol or drugs or for other verified reasons.

A sexual assault (as defined above) of any University student, faculty, or staff member, which occurs either on or off campus, and is perpetrated by another student, faculty, or staff member, will be adjudicated by using the disciplinary process appropriate to the alleged assailant. Disciplinary action may be initiated in addition to, and separate from, any criminal charges which may be pending for the same alleged offense. It is a violation of University policy for any member of the University community to make an intentionally false accusation of sexual assault.

Incidents of sexual assault can be reported to University authorities by contacting the Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students, a residence hall staff member, the Women's Center, Counseling Services, Student Health Services, or the Department of Public Safety. Each of these areas has individuals trained to handle reports of sexual assault. If an individual chooses to report the sexual assault to someone in any of these offices other than Public Safety, the staff member will complete the Sexual Assault Incident Report (SAIR) Form, (anonymously, at the victim/survivor's request) and submit it to the S.A.F.E. program Coordinator in the Women's Center within 24 hours. Counseling, crisis-intervention, and medical assistance will be made available to the victim through RESPONSE and through campus services such as the Women's Center, Counseling Services, and Student Health Services. A victim may choose to contact any of the above services for support and information whether or not she/he chooses to report the assault to the Department of Public Safety or the Police.

1. Inform the victim about Response Sexual Assault Support Services of the YWCA (757) 622-4300, for 24-hour hotline and companion service and consideration of options.
2. If the incident happened within the last 72 hours, physical evidence recovery for criminal processes may still be effective and must be done at a hospital, preferably a hospital with a S.A.N.E. (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) program: Chesapeake General, Chesapeake Forensic Specialists, Sentara Leigh, Maryview, and Newport News Riverside. On-campus victims should be referred to Chesapeake Forensic Specialists (436-4111). Victim advocates can be requested by calling Response Sexual Assault Crisis Services (622-4300). If transportation is needed, call Public Safety at 683-4000.
3. If physical evidence recovery for criminal prosecution is not desired by the victim, or if the incident happened more than 72 hours earlier, suggest medical care for possible after-effects (including checks for STDs). NOTE: There is a 72-hour window of opportunity for many medical services, including emergency contraception (pregnancy prevention). Student Health Services (683-3132) can provide the appropriate follow-up.
4. Encourage the victim to speak directly with the University's S.A.F.E. (Sexual Assault Free Environment) Program Coordinator at the Women's Center for more detailed information about resources and options, and offer to facilitate such a meeting. Call the Women's Center at 683-4109. If the victim refuses this resource, you, the staff member, should consult with the S.A.F.E. Coordinator to ensure the most complete response to the victim's needs and to attain support for yourself.
5. Assist the victim with whether to report the assault to Public Safety, 683-4000, (for an on-campus assault) or city police (based on city in which the incident took place: Norfolk, 664-7033; ). If questions exist about this choice, call Public Safety (regardless of where the incident happened) and ask for more information about the individual's options, or seek additional information about reporting options from Response, the Women's Center, Student Health Services, or Counseling Services.
6. Refer the victim to on-campus support resources. In addition to the Women's Center, Student Health Services and Public Safety, all mentioned above, include referral to Counseling Services (683-4401), and the Campus Judicial Officer (683-4984). See the resource checklist on back of the SAIR form, for brief descriptions of available services, or check the Student, Faculty, or Staff handbooks for specific information about these services.
7. If you are a Residence Hall staff member (including Resident Assistant), report the incident (anonymously, if that is the victim's choice) to the residence hall professional staff person on duty, who will in turn notify the Director of Residence Life who will then follow Division procedures.
8. Notify the Associate Vice President for Student Services and/or the Vice President for Student Services/Dean of Students (683-3442) and report the incident, keeping the victim's identity anonymous if the victim has not given consent. The Associate VP or VP will then determine what other steps will be taken. That decision will be based on both what the victim wants (ascertained through personnel who have had direct contact with the victim) and the safety of the campus community.
9. Fill out the SAIR form (regardless of student's decision about reporting to Public Safety or the police) and deliver it to the Women's Center, S.A.F.E. Coordinator, Room 1000 Webb Center, within 24 hours.

Rape is the most common violent crime on American college campuses today (Finn, 1995).

Women ages 16 to 24 experience rape at rate four times higher than the assault rate of all women (Humphrey and Kahn, 2000).

College women are more at risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault than women the same age but not in college (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner, 2000).

It is estimated that almost 25% of college women have been victims or rape or attempted rape since the age of 14 (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner , 2000 and Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski, 1987).

College women are raped at significantly higher rates than college men. College men are more likely to report experiencing unwanted kissing or fondling than intercourse (Waldner-Haugrud and Magruder, 1995).

Research suggests that up to 10% of acquaintance rape victims on campus are men (Benson, Charton, and Goodhart, 1992).

The most recent large-scale study, including students at both two-and four-year colleges, found 35 rapes per 1,000 female students over seven months (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner, 2000). A college with 10,000 women students could experience 350 rapes/year.

90% of college women who are victims of rape or attempted rape know their assailant (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner, 2000). The attacker is usually a classmate, friend, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, or other acquaintance (in that order).

College students are the most vulnerable to rape during the first few weeks of the freshman and sophomore years (Ostrander and Schwartz, 1994 and Schwartz and DeKeseredy, 1997).

34% of completed rapes and 45% of attempted rapes take place on campus. Almost 60% of the completed campus rapes that take place on campus occur in the victim's residence, 31% occur in another residence, and 10% occur in a fraternity (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner, 2000).

College women most at risk of rape are those who were previously victims of childhood or teen sexual assault (Hanson and Gidycz, 1993 and Fisher, Cullen, and Turner, 2000).

Prior victims are nearly twice as likely to be raped in college than those with no previous history of sexual assault. (Hanson and Gidycz, 1993).

Research on reported gang rapes committed by college students from 1980 to 1990 found that fraternity members committed 55 percent of them (Bohmer and Parrot, 1993).

Sexual Assault in Virginia

Prevalence of Sexual Assault in VA (from "The Prevalence of Sexual Assault in Virginia" published in April 2003).

• The lifetime prevalence of sexual assault in VA was 28% for women and 13% for men-this is more than 1:4 women and 1:8 men.
• 87% of female and 96% of male victims were under 18 at the time of the assault.
• 20% of female and 25% of males reported that they were assaulted multiple times by the same person.
• The majority of perpetrators victimizing women were family members (28%), followed by friends (22%) and acquaintances (18%).
• The majority of victims of sexual assault did not seek professional health care or criminal justice assistance.

Sexual Assault Crisis Centers in VA

(from "The Annual Summary of Services", published in 2003 by VAASA).

• The first rape crisis center in VA opened in 1973.
• There are 37 rape crisis centers in VA that offer 24-hour crisis intervention, advocacy services and education programs.
• In 2002, those 37 centers provided services to 9,617 new victims of sexual assault. Of those whose demographics were known:
  ¨ 25% were under the age of 18.
  ¨ 7% were handicapped.
  ¨ 17% were male.
• Individuals used center services 59,935 times in 2002.
• In 2002, Centers offered 4,350 hours of educational and public awareness programs to over 603,000 people.
• Volunteers provided 208,278 hours of service in 2002 to sexual assault crisis centers.