Reporting Sexual Assault
Deciding whether or not to report an incident can be a stressful and confusing process. Understanding your options and the process is important. See victim/survivor link for information on deciding how to proceed, how and where to report, confidentiality issues and what happens when you do report sexual assault.
Why Does Sexual Assault Happen?
BELIEVING "NO" MEANS "YES" OR MAYBE - Sometimes someone says "no" verbally and sometimes someone says "no" non-verbally by pushing or turning away. If your partner says "no" or even hesitates, STOP! Talk about what he or she is feeling and listen closely to the message you are receiving.
MIXED MESSAGES - Everyone wants to be accepted and liked. Dressing to be attractive, even sexy, is natural! It does not necessarily mean that someone wants to have sex. Appearance, words, and actions can be misinterpreted. Communicate with your date about what you want - and what you don't want!
SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES - Our society "teaches" men and women certain roles that help create an atmosphere where date rape can happen. Men are taught to take control and never express tender, "weak" emotions. Women are taught to be passive but to take all responsibility for setting sexual limits. To stop rape, we must all take responsibility to be respectful of one another and reject these false streotypes.
ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE - In the state of Arizona, a person cannot legally consent to sex if he/she is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Being drunk or "high" lowers your inhibitions and impairs your ability to make safe choices. If you are drinking, be sure you are with people you can trust and know that drinking may make you unable to hear the "no" your partner is trying to communicate to you.
(from Northland Family Help Center)
Reduce your risk
More than 2 out of 3 sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance of the victim. This indicates that although it is important to use strategies to protect yourself from "stranger danger," it is also very important to consider ways of protecting yourself from people that you know that could be potential perpetrators.
- Learn what consent means, how to give it, and how to know when it has been given for all sexual activities. Address consent in EVERY intimate situation.
- Develop a healthy mistrust. You cannot distinguish a person who rapes from one who does not based on physical appearance, profession, income level, ethnic background, education, religion, or sexual preference. Get to know people slowly and in group situations.
- Avoid excessive alcohol use . One half of sexual assault victims report drinking alcohol at the time of the assault.
- Drugs and/or other substances can be slipped into a person’s drink to make a victim more vulnerable. Prepare your own beverage.
- Develop a buddy system to avoid being isolated. Drive to gatherings with a friend. Leave together. Keep an eye out for each other.
- Trust your instincts – if a situation doesn’t feel right, GET AWAY.
- Set sexual limits that are comfortable for you. If you feel you are being isolated, pressured or "talked into" unwanted sex, you are probably right.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Keep your head up and look around. If you walk or jog alone, do so against traffic. If someone follows you in a car, turn and run in the opposite direction. Go to a well-lit, well-populated area.
- Keep your door locked at all times. If you live in a dorm, keep outside doors locked and closed. Do not allow people you don't know to enter the building.
Perpetrators
You cannot distinguish a person who rapes from one who does not based on physical appearance, profession, income level, ethnic background, education, religion, or sexual preference.
In fact, many perpetrators are not aware that a rape was committed. Eighty-four percent of college men in one survey said that what they did was definitely NOT sexual assault, although it met the legal definition. (Warsaw, 1994)
This indicates a need for both men and women to become more educated about consent and what defines sexual assault. Go to the Sexual Assault Tutorial to learn more.
Convicted perpetrators of sexual assault and other sex crimes are listed as sex offenders, along with their address. This allows for communities to know when a sex offender is living near their homes. Arizona Sex Offender Website
