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The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The Truth About Sexual Assault

Hansen talks about the facts and myths of sexual assault. ()
Hansen talks about the facts and myths of sexual assault. ()

Catherine Hansen delivered a program entitled Sexual Assault: Myth and Facts on Tuesday evening in the gallery.

Hansen is a registered nurse and forensic nurse examiner (FNE) as well as the program coordinator for SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners), which operates emergency facilities with specialized equipment for the collection of evidence in sexual assault cases at both Wesley Long Memorial Hospital and Moses Cone Hospital.

The program was specifically tailored to educate college-aged women about the hard facts of rape and sexual assault and the process for reporting a rape and collecting evidence. Part of the program was devoted to dispelling myths about rape.

“It is a myth that women who wear seductive clothing are ‘asking for it,'” said Hansen. “Most of us acknowledge that and yet I have heard so many women come into the ER and say ‘maybe I shouldn’t have worn those leather pants, maybe I shouldn’t have worn that skirt’.but the truth is that most rapes are committed by someone the victim knows, not a stranger looking for a girl with a pony-tail.”

If a woman is raped or sexually assaulted and wishes to file charges against the perpetrator, there are a number of steps she should take.

First, the victim should not shower, bathe, change clothes, eat, drink, smoke or use the bathroom prior to being examined as these activities could damage evidence.

“Unfortunately, your body is a crime scene in these cases,” said Hansen. “DNA evidence that could be collected from swabbing the inside of the mouth, for example, is easily broken down by smoking or drinking.”

The victim should seek treatment at a hospital within 72 hours, prior to the breakdown of DNA evidence.

“Don’t avoid seeking medical care because of cost,” said Hansen. “All patients will be seen regardless of their ability to pay or insurance at Moses Cone.”

Once you are at the hospital a rape crisis advocate will be called immediately to provide you with emotional support, and an FNE will be called in to perform an evidentiary exam and administer emergency prophylactics. You will then be given resources for follow-up care and counseling.

You must give consent for evidence to be collected. If you do give consent, the FNE must call the police and you will be required to give a statement. This does not, however, mean that you must press charges against the perpetrator.

“We will encourage you to press charges, but even just filing a report means that if the perpetrator victimizes another woman, as he most likely will, there will be a record of his past behavior,” said Hansen.

If you choose not to have evidence collected, you can still be treated for any injuries you may have, given emergency prophylactics, and referred to counseling services.

Although this program focused on the assault of women by men, it was noted several times that men are also subject to sexual assault. Men, like women, are encouraged to seek medical care if sexually assaulted, and the same procedure would be followed by the hospital for a male victim of sexual assault as for a female victim.

Both genders were warned of the dangers of using drugs such as GHB (AKA, cherry meth or liquid E), Rohypnol (AKA roofies or the ‘date rape drug’), Ketamine (AKA Special K), ecstasy and alcohol, as they can cause impaired judgment, memory loss, and even death.

One should not, however, fail to report an incident of sexual because of being under the influence any of these drugs at the time of the assault.

“Just because you made a bad decision does not mean you deserved to be assaulted,” said Hansen.

Statistics:
ú In 83% of cases of violence against women, the woman is under the age of 25.
ú 77% of completed rapes (where vaginal penetration occurs) are by someone the victim knows.
ú One in six women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. In the U.S., a rape is reported every five minutes.
ú In Greensboro, 2.8% of college women have experienced a completed or attempted rape during their college experience.
ú 60% of sexual victimizations on college campuses take place in the victim’s residence.
ú 51% of rapes on college campuses happen between midnight and six a.m.

The odds of college students being sexually assaulted increase exponentially if they:
1. Frequently drink enough to get drunk
2. Are unmarried
3. Have been a victim of sexual assault in the past
4. Live on campus

Contacts:
ú Greensboro Rape Crisis Line: (336) 273-7273
ú [email protected]

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