sexual assault personal statement

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Stanford sexual assault case: victim impact statement in full

The 23-year-old victim’s statement has been read millions of times online since being released by the district attorney. Read it in full here

Father defends Stanford student son found guilty of sexual assault

A sexual assault victim has written an unflinching account of the crime and its aftermath and delivered it directly to her attacker in court.

After midnight on 18 January 2015, Brock Turner was witnessed sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto.

Brock Turner, a former star swimmer at Stanford University in the US, was on Thursday sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in a county jail and probation for three felonies relating to the assault – a fraction of the potential maximum of 14 years in a state prison.

The sentencing judge at the California court, Aaron Persky, said Turner’s lack of criminal record, age, and remorse were mitigating factors. The Santa Clara district attorney, Jeff Rosen, expressed disappointment, saying the punishment “did not fit the crime”.

The 23-year-old woman read a condensed version of her powerful 12-page victim impact statement at the hearing, in which she detailed the assault, the invasive exam she underwent to collect evidence and the “excruciating” interrogation of the court trial.

Her 7,000-word statement was released by the district attorney’s office .

Since then, it has been widely praised as an uncompromising account of sexual assault. As published on BuzzFeed , which obtained the statement from the victim and spoke to her, it has been viewed more than four million times since Saturday.

Read the woman’s statement in full below.

Your honor, If it is all right, for the majority of this statement I would like to address the defendant directly. You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here today. On January 17th, 2015, it was a quiet Saturday night at home. My dad made some dinner and I sat at the table with my younger sister who was visiting for the weekend. I was working full time and it was approaching my bed time. I planned to stay at home by myself, watch some TV and read, while she went to a party with her friends. Then, I decided it was my only night with her, I had nothing better to do, so why not, there’s a dumb party ten minutes from my house, I would go, dance weird like a fool, and embarrass my younger sister. On the way there, I joked that undergrad guys would have braces. My sister teased me for wearing a beige cardigan to a frat party like a librarian. I called myself “big mama,” because I knew I’d be the oldest one there. I made silly faces, let my guard down, and drank liquor too fast not factoring in that my tolerance had significantly lowered since college. The next thing I remember I was in a gurney in a hallway. I had dried blood and bandages on the backs of my hands and elbow. I thought maybe I had fallen and was in an admin office on campus. I was very calm and wondering where my sister was. A deputy explained I had been assaulted. I still remained calm, assured he was speaking to the wrong person. I knew no one at this party. When I was finally allowed to use the restroom, I pulled down the hospital pants they had given me, went to pull down my underwear, and felt nothing. I still remember the feeling of my hands touching my skin and grabbing nothing. I looked down and there was nothing. The thin piece of fabric, the only thing between my vagina and anything else, was missing and everything inside me was silenced. I still don’t have words for that feeling. In order to keep breathing, I thought maybe the policemen used scissors to cut them off for evidence. Then, I felt pine needles scratching the back of my neck and started pulling them out my hair. I thought maybe, the pine needles had fallen from a tree onto my head. My brain was talking my gut into not collapsing. Because my gut was saying, help me, help me. I shuffled from room to room with a blanket wrapped around me, pine needles trailing behind me, I left a little pile in every room I sat in. I was asked to sign papers that said “Rape Victim” and I thought something has really happened. My clothes were confiscated and I stood naked while the nurses held a ruler to various abrasions on my body and photographed them. The three of us worked to comb the pine needles out of my hair, six hands to fill one paper bag. To calm me down, they said it’s just the flora and fauna, flora and fauna. I had multiple swabs inserted into my vagina and anus, needles for shots, pills, had a nikon pointed right into my spread legs. I had long, pointed beaks inside me and had my vagina smeared with cold, blue paint to check for abrasions. After a few hours of this, they let me shower. I stood there examining my body beneath the stream of water and decided, I don’t want my body anymore. I was terrified of it, I didn’t know what had been in it, if it had been contaminated, who had touched it. I wanted to take off my body like a jacket and leave it at the hospital with everything else. On that morning, all that I was told was that I had been found behind a dumpster, potentially penetrated by a stranger, and that I should get retested for HIV because results don’t always show up immediately. But for now, I should go home and get back to my normal life. Imagine stepping back into the world with only that information. They gave me huge hugs, and then I walked out of the hospital into the parking lot wearing the new sweatshirt and sweatpants they provided me, as they had only allowed me to keep my necklace and shoes. My sister picked me up, face wet from tears and contorted in anguish. Instinctively and immediately, I wanted to take away her pain. I smiled at her, I told her to look at me, I’m right here, I’m okay, everything’s okay, I’m right here. My hair is washed and clean, they gave me the strangest shampoo, calm down, and look at me. Look at these funny new sweatpants and sweatshirt, I look like a P.E. teacher, let’s go home, let’s eat something. She did not know that beneath my sweats, I had scratches and bandages on my skin, my vagina was sore and had become a strange, dark color from all the prodding, my underwear was missing, and I felt too empty to continue to speak. That I was also afraid, that I was also devastated. That day we drove home and for hours my sister held me. My boyfriend did not know what happened, but called that day and said, “I was really worried about you last night, you scared me, did you make it home okay?” I was horrified. That’s when I learned I had called him that night in my blackout, left an incomprehensible voicemail, that we had also spoken on the phone, but I was slurring so heavily he was scared for me, that he repeatedly told me to go find my sister. Again, he asked me, “What happened last night? Did you make it home okay?” I said yes, and hung up to cry. I was not ready to tell my boyfriend or parents that actually, I may have been raped behind a dumpster, but I don’t know by who or when or how. If I told them, I would see the fear on their faces, and mine would multiply by tenfold, so instead I pretended the whole thing wasn’t real. I tried to push it out of my mind, but it was so heavy I didn’t talk, I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t interact with anyone. After work, I would drive to a secluded place to scream. I didn’t talk, I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t interact with anyone, and I became isolated from the ones I loved most. For one week after the incident, I didn’t get any calls or updates about that night or what happened to me. The only symbol that proved that it hadn’t just been a bad dream, was the sweatshirt from the hospital in my drawer. One day, I was at work, scrolling through the news on my phone, and came across an article. In it, I read and learned for the first time about how I was found unconscious, with my hair disheveled, long necklace wrapped around my neck, bra pulled out of my dress, dress pulled off over my shoulders and pulled up above my waist, that I was butt naked all the way down to my boots, legs spread apart, and had been penetrated by a foreign object by someone I did not recognize. This was how I learned what happened to me, sitting at my desk reading the news at work. I learned what happened to me the same time everyone else in the world learned what happened to me. That’s when the pine needles in my hair made sense, they didn’t fall from a tree. He had taken off my underwear, his fingers had been inside of me. I don’t even know this person. I still don’t know this person. When I read about me like this, I said, this can’t be me. This can’t be me. I could not digest or accept any of this information. I could not imagine my family having to read about this online. I kept reading. In the next paragraph, I read something that I will never forgive; I read that according to him, I liked it. I liked it. Again, I do not have words for these feelings. At the bottom of the article, after I learned about the graphic details of my own sexual assault, the article listed his swimming times. She was found breathing, unresponsive with her underwear six inches away from her bare stomach curled in fetal position. By the way, he’s really good at swimming. Throw in my mile time if that’s what we’re doing. I’m good at cooking, put that in there, I think the end is where you list your extra-curriculars to cancel out all the sickening things that’ve happened. The night the news came out I sat my parents down and told them that I had been assaulted, to not look at the news because it’s upsetting, just know that I’m okay, I’m right here, and I’m okay. But halfway through telling them, my mom had to hold me because I could no longer stand up. I was not okay. The night after it happened, he said he didn’t know my name, said he wouldn’t be able to identify my face in a lineup, didn’t mention any dialogue between us, no words, only dancing and kissing. Dancing is a cute term; was it snapping fingers and twirling dancing, or just bodies grinding up against each other in a crowded room? I wonder if kissing was just faces sloppily pressed up against each other? When the detective asked if he had planned on taking me back to his dorm, he said no. When the detective asked how we ended up behind the dumpster, he said he didn’t know. He admitted to kissing other girls at that party, one of whom was my own sister who pushed him away. He admitted to wanting to hook up with someone. I was the wounded antelope of the herd, completely alone and vulnerable, physically unable to fend for myself, and he chose me. Sometimes I think, if I hadn’t gone, then this never would’ve happened. But then I realized, it would have happened, just to somebody else. You were about to enter four years of access to drunk girls and parties, and if this is the foot you started off on, then it is right you did not continue. The night after it happened, he said he thought I liked it because I rubbed his back. A back rub. Never mentioned me voicing consent, never mentioned us speaking, a back rub. One more time, in public news, I learned that my ass and vagina were completely exposed outside, my breasts had been groped, fingers had been jabbed inside me along with pine needles and debris, my bare skin and head had been rubbing against the ground behind a dumpster, while an erect freshman was humping my half naked, unconscious body. But I don’t remember, so how do I prove I didn’t like it. I thought there’s no way this is going to trial; there were witnesses, there was dirt in my body, he ran but was caught. He’s going to settle, formally apologize, and we will both move on. Instead, I was told he hired a powerful attorney, expert witnesses, private investigators who were going to try and find details about my personal life to use against me, find loopholes in my story to invalidate me and my sister, in order to show that this sexual assault was in fact a misunderstanding. That he was going to go to any length to convince the world he had simply been confused. I was not only told that I was assaulted, I was told that because I couldn’t remember, I technically could not prove it was unwanted. And that distorted me, damaged me, almost broke me. It is the saddest type of confusion to be told I was assaulted and nearly raped, blatantly out in the open, but we don’t know if it counts as assault yet. I had to fight for an entire year to make it clear that there was something wrong with this situation. When I was told to be prepared in case we didn’t win, I said, I can’t prepare for that. He was guilty the minute I woke up. No one can talk me out of the hurt he caused me. Worst of all, I was warned, because he now knows you don’t remember, he is going to get to write the script. He can say whatever he wants and no one can contest it. I had no power, I had no voice, I was defenseless. My memory loss would be used against me. My testimony was weak, was incomplete, and I was made to believe that perhaps, I am not enough to win this. That’s so damaging. His attorney constantly reminded the jury, the only one we can believe is Brock, because she doesn’t remember. That helplessness was traumatizing. Instead of taking time to heal, I was taking time to recall the night in excruciating detail, in order to prepare for the attorney’s questions that would be invasive, aggressive, and designed to steer me off course, to contradict myself, my sister, phrased in ways to manipulate my answers. Instead of his attorney saying, Did you notice any abrasions? He said, You didn’t notice any abrasions, right? This was a game of strategy, as if I could be tricked out of my own worth. The sexual assault had been so clear, but instead, here I was at the trial, answering question like: How old are you? How much do you weigh? What did you eat that day? Well what did you have for dinner? Who made dinner? Did you drink with dinner? No, not even water? When did you drink? How much did you drink? What container did you drink out of? Who gave you the drink? How much do you usually drink? Who dropped you off at this party? At what time? But where exactly? What were you wearing? Why were you going to this party? What’ d you do when you got there? Are you sure you did that? But what time did you do that? What does this text mean? Who were you texting? When did you urinate? Where did you urinate? With whom did you urinate outside? Was your phone on silent when your sister called? Do you remember silencing it? Really because on page 53 I’d like to point out that you said it was set to ring. Did you drink in college? You said you were a party animal? How many times did you black out? Did you party at frats? Are you serious with your boyfriend? Are you sexually active with him? When did you start dating? Would you ever cheat? Do you have a history of cheating? What do you mean when you said you wanted to reward him? Do you remember what time you woke up? Were you wearing your cardigan? What color was your cardigan? Do you remember any more from that night? No? Okay, we’ll let Brock fill it in. I was pummeled with narrowed, pointed questions that dissected my personal life, love life, past life, family life, inane questions, accumulating trivial details to try and find an excuse for this guy who didn’t even take the time to ask me for my name, who had me naked a handful of minutes after seeing me. After a physical assault, I was assaulted with questions designed to attack me, to say see, her facts don’t line up, she’s out of her mind, she’s practically an alcoholic, she probably wanted to hook up, he’s like an athlete right, they were both drunk, whatever, the hospital stuff she remembers is after the fact, why take it into account, Brock has a lot at stake so he’s having a really hard time right now. And then it came time for him to testify. This is where I became revictimized. I want to remind you, the night after it happened he said he never planned to take me back to his dorm. He said he didn’t know why we were behind a dumpster. He got up to leave because he wasn’t feeling well when he was suddenly chased and attacked. Then he learned I could not remember. So one year later, as predicted, a new dialogue emerged. Brock had a strange new story, almost sounded like a poorly written young adult novel with kissing and dancing and hand holding and lovingly tumbling onto the ground, and most importantly in this new story, there was suddenly consent. One year after the incident, he remembered, oh yeah, by the way she actually said yes, to everything, so. He said he had asked if I wanted to dance. Apparently I said yes. He’d asked if I wanted to go to his dorm, I said yes. Then he asked if he could finger me and I said yes. Most guys don’t ask, Can I finger you? Usually there’s a natural progression of things, unfolding consensually, not a Q and A. But apparently I granted full permission. He’s in the clear. Even in this story, there’s barely any dialogue; I only said a total of three words before he had me half naked on the ground. I have never been penetrated after three words. He didn’t claim to hear me speak one full sentence that night, so in the news when it says we “met”, I’m not sure I would go so far as to say that. Future reference, if you are confused about whether a girl can consent, see if she can speak an entire sentence. You couldn’t even do that. Just one coherent string of words. If she can’t do that, then no. Don’t touch her, just no. Not maybe, just no. Where was the confusion? This is common sense, human decency. According to him, the only reason we were on the ground was because I fell down. Note; if a girl falls help her get back up. If she is too drunk to even walk and falls, do not mount her, hump her, take off her underwear, and insert your hand inside her vagina. If a girl falls help her up. If she is wearing a cardigan over her dress don’t take it off so that you can touch her breasts. Maybe she is cold, maybe that’s why she wore the cardigan. If her bare ass and legs are rubbing the pinecones and needles, while the weight of you pushes into her, get off her. Next in the story, two people approached you. You ran because you said you felt scared. I argue that you were scared because you’d be caught, not because you were scared of two terrifying Swedish grad students. The idea that you thought you were being attacked out of the blue was ludicrous. That it had nothing to do with you being on top my unconscious body. You were caught red handed, with no explanation. When they tackled you why didn’t say, “Stop! Everything’s okay, go ask her, she’s right over there, she’ll tell you.” I mean you had just asked for my consent, right? I was awake, right? When the policeman arrived and interviewed the evil Swede who tackled you, he was crying so hard he couldn’t speak because of what he’d seen. Also, if you really did think they were dangerous, you just abandoned a half-naked girl to run and save yourself. No matter which way you frame it, it doesn’t make sense. Your attorney has repeatedly pointed out, well we don’t know exactly when she became unconscious. And you’re right, maybe I was still fluttering my eyes and wasn’t completely limp yet, fine. His guilt did not depend on him knowing the exact second that I became unconscious, that is never what this was about. I was slurring, too drunk to consent way before I was on the ground. I should have never been touched in the first place. Brock stated, “At no time did I see that she was not responding. If at any time I thought she was not responding, I would have stopped immediately.” Here’s the thing; if your plan was to stop only when I was literally unresponsive, then you still do not understand. You didn’t even stop when I was unconscious anyway! Someone else stopped you. Two guys on bikes noticed I wasn’t moving in the dark and had to tackle you. How did you not notice while on top of me? You said, you would have stopped and gotten help. You say that, but I want you to explain how you would’ve helped me, step by step, walk me through this. I want to know, if those evil Swedes had not found me, how the night would have played out. I am asking you; Would you have pulled my underwear back on over my boots? Untangled the necklace wrapped around my neck? Closed my legs, covered me? Tucked my bra back into my dress? Would you have helped me pick the needles from my hair? Asked if the abrasions on my neck and bottom hurt? Would you then go find a friend and say, Will you help me get her somewhere warm and soft? I don’t sleep when I think about the way it could have gone if the Swedes had never come. What would have happened to me? That’s what you’ll never have a good answer for, that’s what you can’t explain even after a year. To sit under oath and inform all of us, that yes I wanted it, yes I permitted it, and that you are the true victim attacked by guys for reasons unknown to you is sick, is demented, is selfish, is stupid. It shows that you were willing to go to any length, to discredit me, invalidate me, and explain why it was okay to hurt me. You tried unyieldingly to save yourself, your reputation, at my expense. My family had to see pictures of my head strapped to a gurney full of pine needles, of my body in the dirt with my eyes closed, dress hiked up, limbs limp in the dark. And then even after that, my family had to listen to your attorney say, the pictures were after the fact, we can dismiss them. To say, yes her nurse confirmed there was redness and abrasions inside her, but that’s what happens when you finger someone, and he’s already admitted to that. To listen to him use my own sister against me. To listen him attempt to paint of a picture of me, the seductive party animal, as if somehow that would make it so that I had this coming for me. To listen to him say I sounded drunk on the phone because I’m silly and that’s my goofy way of speaking. To point out that in the voicemail, I said I would reward my boyfriend and we all know what I was thinking. I assure you my rewards program is non-transferable, especially to any nameless man that approaches me. The point is, this is everything my family and I endured during the trial. This is everything I had to sit through silently, taking it, while he shaped the evening. It is enough to be suffering. It is another thing to have someone ruthlessly working to diminish the gravity and validity of this suffering. But in the end, his unsupported statements and his attorney’s twisted logic fooled no one. The truth won, the truth spoke for itself. You are guilty. Twelve jurors convicted you guilty of three felony counts beyond reasonable doubt, that’s twelve votes per count, thirty-six yeses confirming guilt, that’s one hundred percent, unanimous guilt. And I thought finally it is over, finally he will own up to what he did, truly apologize, we will both move on and get better. Then I read your statement. If you are hoping that one of my organs will implode from anger and I will die, I’m almost there. You are very close. Assault is not an accident. This is not a story of another drunk college hook-up with poor decision making. Somehow, you still don’t get it. Somehow, you still sound confused. I will now take this opportunity to read portions of the defendant’s statement and respond to them. You said, Being drunk I just couldn’t make the best decisions and neither could she. Alcohol is not an excuse. Is it a factor? Yes. But alcohol was not the one who stripped me, fingered me, had my head dragging against the ground, with me almost fully naked. Having too much to drink was an amateur mistake that I admit to, but it is not criminal. Everyone in this room has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much, or knows someone close to them who has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much. Regretting drinking is not the same as regretting sexual assault. We were both drunk, the difference is I did not take off your pants and underwear, touch you inappropriately, and run away. That’s the difference. You said, If I wanted to get to know her, I should have asked for her number, rather than asking her to go back to my room. I’m not mad because you didn’t ask for my number. Even if you did know me, I would not want be in this situation. My own boyfriend knows me, but if he asked to finger me behind a dumpster, I would slap him. No girl wants to be in this situation. Nobody. I don’t care if you know their phone number or not. You said, I stupidly thought it was okay for me to do what everyone around me was doing, which was drinking. I was wrong. Again, you were not wrong for drinking. Everyone around you was not sexually assaulting me. You were wrong for doing what nobody else was doing, which was pushing your erect dick in your pants against my naked, defenseless body concealed in a dark area, where partygoers could no longer see or protect me, and own my sister could not find me. Sipping fireball is not your crime. Peeling off and discarding my underwear like a candy wrapper to insert your finger into my body, is where you went wrong. Why am I still explaining this. You said, During the trial I didn’t want to victimize her at all. That was just my attorney and his way of approaching the case. Your attorney is not your scapegoat, he represents you. Did your attorney say some incredulously infuriating, degrading things? Absolutely. He said you had an erection, because it was cold. I have no words. You said, you are in the process of establishing a program for high school and college students in which you speak about your experience to “speak out against the college campus drinking culture and the sexual promiscuity that goes along with that.” Speak out against campus drinking culture. That’s what we’re speaking out against? You think that’s what I’ve spent the past year fighting for? Not awareness about campus sexual assault, or rape, or learning to recognize consent. Campus drinking culture. Down with Jack Daniels. Down with Skyy Vodka. If you want talk to high school kids about drinking go to an AA meeting. You realize, having a drinking problem is different than drinking and then forcefully trying to have sex with someone? Show men how to respect women, not how to drink less. Drinking culture and the sexual promiscuity that goes along with that. Goes along with that, like a side effect, like fries on the side of your order. Where does promiscuity even come into play? I don’t see headlines that read, Brock Turner, Guilty of drinking too much and the sexual promiscuity that goes along with that. Campus Sexaul Assault. There’s your first powerpoint slide. I have done enough explaining. You do not get to shrug your shoulders and be confused anymore. You do not get to pretend that there were no red flags. You do not get to not know why you ran. You have been convicted of violating me with malicious intent, and all you can admit to is consuming alcohol. Do not talk about the sad way your life was upturned because alcohol made you do bad things. Figure out how to take responsibility for your own conduct. Lastly you said, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin a life. Ruin a life, one life, yours, you forgot about mine. Let me rephrase for you, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives. You and me. You are the cause, I am the effect. You have dragged me through this hell with you, dipped me back into that night again and again. You knocked down both our towers, I collapsed at the same time you did. Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment. My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today. See one thing we have in common is that we were both unable to get up in the morning. I am no stranger to suffering. You made me a victim. In newspapers my name was “unconscious intoxicated woman”, ten syllables, and nothing more than that. For a while, I believed that that was all I was. I had to force myself to relearn my real name, my identity. To relearn that this is not all that I am. That I am not just a drunk victim at a frat party found behind a dumpster, while you are the All-American swimmer at a top university, innocent until proven guilty, with so much at stake. I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt, who waited a year to figure out if I was worth something. My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition. I became closed off, angry, self-deprecating, tired, irritable, empty. The isolation at times was unbearable. You cannot give me back the life I had before that night either. While you worry about your shattered reputation, I refrigerated spoons every night so when I woke up, and my eyes were puffy from crying, I would hold the spoons to my eyes to lessen the swelling so that I could see. I showed up an hour late to work every morning, excused myself to cry in the stairwells, I can tell you all the best places in that building to cry where no one can hear you, the pain became so bad that I had to tell my boss I was leaving, I needed time because continuing day to day was not possible. I used my savings to go as far away as I could possibly be. I can’t sleep alone at night without having a light on, like a five year old, because I have nightmares of being touched where I cannot wake up, I did this thing where I waited until the sun came up and I felt safe enough to sleep. For three months, I went to bed at six o’clock in the morning. I used to pride myself on my independence, now I am afraid to go on walks in the evening, to attend social events with drinking among friends where I should be comfortable being. I have become a little barnacle always needing to be at someone’s side, to have my boyfriend standing next to me, sleeping beside me, protecting me. It is embarrassing how feeble I feel, how timidly I move through life, always guarded, ready to defend myself, ready to be angry. You have no idea how hard I have worked to rebuild parts of me that are still weak. It took me eight months to even talk about what happened. I could no longer connect with friends, with everyone around me. I would scream at my boyfriend, my own family whenever they brought this up. You never let me forget what happened to me. At the of end of the hearing, the trial, I was too tired to speak. I would leave drained, silent. I would go home turn off my phone and for days I would not speak. You bought me a ticket to a planet where I lived by myself. Every time a new article come out, I lived with the paranoia that my entire hometown would find out and know me as the girl who got assaulted. I didn’t want anyone’s pity and am still learning to accept victim as part of my identity. You made my own hometown an uncomfortable place to be. Someday, you can pay me back for my ambulance ride and therapy. But you cannot give me back my sleepless nights. The way I have broken down sobbing uncontrollably if I’m watching a movie and a woman is harmed, to say it lightly, this experience has expanded my empathy for other victims. I have lost weight from stress, when people would comment I told them I’ve been running a lot lately. There are times I did not want to be touched. I have to relearn that I am not fragile, I am capable, I am wholesome, not just livid and weak. I want to say this. All the crying, the hurting you have imposed on me, I can take it. But when I see my younger sister hurting, when she is unable to keep up in school, when she is deprived of joy, when she is not sleeping, when she is crying so hard on the phone she is barely breathing, telling me over and over she is sorry for leaving me alone that night, sorry sorry sorry, when she feels more guilt than you, then I do not forgive you. That night I had called her to try and find her, but you found me first. Your attorney’s closing statement began, “My sister said she was fine and who knows her better than her sister.” You tried to use my own sister against me. Your points of attack were so weak, so low, it was almost embarrassing. You do not touch her. If you think I was spared, came out unscathed, that today I ride off into sunset, while you suffer the greatest blow, you are mistaken. Nobody wins. We have all been devastated, we have all been trying to find some meaning in all of this suffering. You should have never done this to me. Secondly, you should have never made me fight so long to tell you, you should have never done this to me. But here we are. The damage is done, no one can undo it. And now we both have a choice. We can let this destroy us, I can remain angry and hurt and you can be in denial, or we can face it head on, I accept the pain, you accept the punishment, and we move on. Your life is not over, you have decades of years ahead to rewrite your story. The world is huge, it is so much bigger than Palo Alto and Stanford, and you will make a space for yourself in it where you can be useful and happy. Right now your name is tainted, so I challenge you to make a new name for yourself, to do something so good for the world, it blows everyone away. You have a brain and a voice and a heart. Use them wisely. You possess immense love from your family. That alone can pull you out of anything. Mine has held me up through all of this. Yours will hold you and you will go on. I believe, that one day, you will understand all of this better. I hope you will become a better more honest person who can properly use this story to prevent another story like this from ever happening again. I fully support your journey to healing, to rebuilding your life, because that is the only way you’ll begin to help others. Now to address the sentencing. When I read the probation officer’s report, I was in disbelief, consumed by anger which eventually quieted down to profound sadness. My statements have been slimmed down to distortion and taken out of context. I fought hard during this trial and will not have the outcome minimized by a probation officer who attempted to evaluate my current state and my wishes in a fifteen minute conversation, the majority of which was spent answering questions I had about the legal system. The context is also important. Brock had yet to issue a statement, and I had not read his remarks. My life has been on hold for over a year, a year of anger, anguish and uncertainty, until a jury of my peers rendered a judgment that validated the injustices I had endured. Had Brock admitted guilt and remorse and offered to settle early on, I would have considered a lighter sentence, respecting his honesty, grateful to be able to move our lives forward. Instead he took the risk of going to trial, added insult to injury and forced me to relive the hurt as details about my personal life and sexual assault were brutally dissected before the public. He pushed me and my family through a year of inexplicable, unnecessary suffering, and should face the consequences of challenging his crime, of putting my pain into question, of making us wait so long for justice. I told the probation officer I do not want Brock to rot away in prison. I did not say he does not deserve to be behind bars. The probation officer’s recommendation of a year or less in county jail is a soft time-out, a mockery of the seriousness of his assaults, and of the consequences of the pain I have been forced to endure. I also told the probation officer that what I truly wanted was for Brock to get it, to understand and admit to his wrongdoing. Unfortunately, after reading the defendant’s statement, I am severely disappointed and feel that he has failed to exhibit sincere remorse or responsibility for his conduct. I fully respected his right to a trial, but even after twelve jurors unanimously convicted him guilty of three felonies, all he has admitted to doing is ingesting alcohol. Someone who cannot take full accountability for his actions does not deserve a mitigating sentence. It is deeply offensive that he would try and dilute rape with a suggestion of promiscuity. By definition rape is the absence of promiscuity, rape is the absence of consent, and it perturbs me deeply that he can’t even see that distinction. The probation officer factored in that the defendant is youthful and has no prior convictions. In my opinion, he is old enough to know what he did was wrong. When you are eighteen in this country you can go to war. When you are nineteen, you are old enough to pay the consequences for attempting to rape someone. He is young, but he is old enough to know better. As this is a first offense I can see where leniency would beckon. On the other hand, as a society, we cannot forgive everyone’s first sexual assault or digital rape. It doesn’t make sense. The seriousness of rape has to be communicated clearly, we should not create a culture that suggests we learn that rape is wrong through trial and error. The consequences of sexual assault needs to be severe enough that people feel enough fear to exercise good judgment even if they are drunk, severe enough to be preventative. The fact that Brock was a star athlete at a prestigious university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a strong cultural message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class. The probation officer weighed the fact that he has surrendered a hard earned swimming scholarship. If I had been sexually assaulted by an un-athletic guy from a community college, what would his sentence be? If a first time offender from an underprivileged background was accused of three felonies and displayed no accountability for his actions other than drinking, what would his sentence be? How fast he swims does not lessen the impact of what happened to me. The Probation Officer has stated that this case, when compared to other crimes of similar nature, may be considered less serious due to the defendant’s level of intoxication. It felt serious. That’s all I’m going to say. He is a lifetime sex registrant. That doesn’t expire. Just like what he did to me doesn’t expire, doesn’t just go away after a set number of years. It stays with me, it’s part of my identity, it has forever changed the way I carry myself, the way I live the rest of my life. A year has gone by and he has had lots of time on his hands. Has he been seeing a psychologist? What has he done in this past year to show he’s been progressing? If he says he wants to implement programs, what has he done to show for it? Throughout incarceration I hope he is provided with appropriate therapy and resources to rebuild his life. I request that he educates himself about the issue of campus sexual assault. I hope he accepts proper punishment and pushes himself to reenter society as a better person. To conclude, I want to say thank you. To everyone from the intern who made me oatmeal when I woke up at the hospital that morning, to the deputy who waited beside me, to the nurses who calmed me, to the detective who listened to me and never judged me, to my advocates who stood unwaveringly beside me, to my therapist who taught me to find courage in vulnerability, to my boss for being kind and understanding, to my incredible parents who teach me how to turn pain into strength, to my friends who remind me how to be happy, to my boyfriend who is patient and loving, to my unconquerable sister who is the other half of my heart, to Alaleh, my idol, who fought tirelessly and never doubted me. Thank you to everyone involved in the trial for their time and attention. Thank you to girls across the nation that wrote cards to my DA to give to me, so many strangers who cared for me. Most importantly, thank you to the two men who saved me, who I have yet to meet. I sleep with two bicycles that I drew taped above my bed to remind myself there are heroes in this story. That we are looking out for one another. To have known all of these people, to have felt their protection and love, is something I will never forget. And finally, to girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought everyday for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you. Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining. Although I can’t save every boat, I hope that by speaking today, you absorbed a small amount of light, a small knowing that you can’t be silenced, a small satisfaction that justice was served, a small assurance that we are getting somewhere, and a big, big knowing that you are important, unquestionably, you are untouchable, you are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you. To girls everywhere, I am with you. Thank you.

• This article was amended on 6 June 2016 to clarify that BuzzFeed obtained the victim’s statement in the Stanford sexual assault case from the victim herself.
• Stanford sexual assault case
• US justice system
• Rape and sexual assault

More on this story

‘20 minutes of action’: father defends Stanford student son convicted of sexual assault

Chinese feminists post selfies in solidarity with Stanford assault victim

To Brock Turner's victim: know this – we are with you

Ex-Stanford swimmer gets six months in jail and probation for sexual assault

Stanford sexual assault victims see few options for recourse – in school or court

Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting woman after fraternity party

Most viewed.

‘I will never stop telling my story’: Confronting victim-blaming for sexual assault 

Facebook Twitter Print Email

Imagine enduring a terrifying sexual attack. Bruised and shaken, you recount what happened to the police only for them to turn the tables on you, by asking: what were you wearing ?  

“A blue dress, black tights and boots. That's what I was wearing,” said Jessica Long, a sexual violence survivor who has been campaigning for the rights of survivors, for the past six years. “That's what I was wearing the night I was drugged. I was raped. And I was left alone to die”. 

This and other offensive questions are consistently put to traumatized victims around the world – placing blame on their shoulders for a crime perpetrated against them.  

To highlight the victim-blaming that underpins these kind of questions, US civil rights organization Rise partnered with the UN Spotlight Initiative to stage an exhibition  at UN Headquarters in New York, " What Were You Wearing? ", that confirms the pervasiveness of sexual violence across all cultures and underscores that what a victim is wearing, should have no bearing in the investigation of a heinous crime. 

Search for justice  

Sexual violence is a universal issue that demands greater international recognition.  

According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), 35 per cent of women globally, or more than one-third of the world’s population, have survived sexual violence. 

This is equivalent to the combined populations of North America and Europe. Rape is an epidemic. 

Clothing is irrelevant, it is never an invitation for violence, and does not cause attacks. Perpetrators do.  

“What I was wearing should not matter,” said survivor Samantha McCoy, an attorney and activist from Texas.  

She stressed that her geographical location should not determine “whether I received proper care”, reminding that consent cannot be given, if a person is “not responsive”. 

Since 2018, through her tireless advocacy work Samantha has been successful in advocating for new legislation on the issue, in Indiana and Texas. And she continues to seek legal reform, on behalf of all survivors. 

Shifting the narrative  

In the fashion world, the question “what were you wearing?” can empower, celebrate creativity and mark influence. But for survivors of sexual violence, it becomes a ritualistic blame tactic.  

During the launch, Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed observed that “by asking the question What Were You Wearing ?, this exhibition flips the narrative on victim-shaming and blaming”. 

“They mirror the diversity of people who experience violence from every region of the world, including a two-year-old child…[and] demonstrate more clearly than any legal argument could, that women and girls are attacked regardless of what they are wearing,” she said.  

General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid said the exhibit “underscored the reality that the threat of rape looms over the lives of all women, regardless of their station in life…their occupation, [or] their clothing choices”.  

“This exhibition should be a catalyst to spur important conversations about our collective responsibility to eliminate violence against women and girls”.    

Setting the stage  

Representing each of the five UN Regional Groups, mannequins were clothed in the outfits worn by women as they were being sexually assaulted – 103 in all, symbolizing the 1.3 billion survivors of sexual violence across the globe. 

“They were worn by women and girls just going about their daily lives – until they were attacked,” said the deputy UN chief. “No one should be assaulted based on their choice of clothing. No one should be abused. Full stop”. 

No one should be abused. Full stop –  UN deputy chief

Survivor Amanda Nguyen, CEO and Founder of Rise, underscored that “what we were wearing at the time of our attack was not an invitation for violence…did not cause the attack…[and] is irrelevant”. 

 “By boldly answering the question and showing the world what we were wearing, we see an opportunity to open minds and shift attitudes about what sexual assault looks like,” she explained. 

Shifting mindsets  

The project highlights the bravery and resilience of survivors. And displaying inside UN Headquarters the visceral and mundane reality of sexual assault, adds a powerful layer of international symbolism.  

Survivor Kadijatu Grace described herself as a “lucky one” who gets to speak for those who cannot, “like young Khadija, my namesake, that was raped and killed two years ago”. 

She recalled that when civil war broke out in Sierra Leone, rebels abducted and raped girls. Then 13-years-old, the young teenager’s mother bought her a boat ticket and in desperation, entrusted Kadijatu’s escape to a stranger. 

“He took me to where the engines were, so nobody would hear, strangled me, put my hands behind my back, stuffed my mouth with his shirt, warned he would throw me over if I spoke out and threatened to go back and kill my mother,” she recounted. 

It took time, but Kadijatu was finally able to acknowledge that she was raped through no fault of her own.  

“You thought you broke me, but you gave me a platform,” she said triumphantly. Now, “I will never stop telling my story”.  

Changing the system  

Back in 2019, Britney Lane was sexually assaulted by a coworker during a night out with friends.  

“I repeated my story numerous times that day, starting with local police and ending with staff from two different hospitals. The first question I was asked by almost every police officer and doctor was: what were you wearing?” 

At the time of the attack, the officer who took her statement advised Britney against pressing charges, saying that there did not seem to be enough evidence.  

“Like many other survivors, I was filled with embarrassment, shame and guilt,” she said. “I can't change what happened to me that night, but I can work to change the system to ensure no one is failed again”.  

I can work to change the system to ensure no one is failed again –  Survivor-turned-activist

Advocating for justice  

Amanda still remembers spending six hours in the hospital the night after she was raped. 

“I felt so alone”.  

The first time she told her story to public officials, the woman who later founded Rise, went home and cried.  

“They didn't care. But the next morning, I got back up and I did it again”.  

En route to speak to Congress, Amanda’s stoic Uber driver asked where she was going. After being told, he began to cry, opening up that his daughter was also raped.  

“Can I shake your hand?” he asked upon their arrival. “Thank you so much for fighting for my daughter”.  

Resolution   

Although protesters march worldwide demanding justice for survivors, and hashtags, such as #MeTo, have become massive on social media, the UN General Assembly has yet to pass a resolution focused solely on protection of sexual violence survivors.  

It did however, unanimously adopt a new agenda item that enshrines access to justice for sexual assault survivors and permanently places it on the Assembly’s docket to be the discussed annually by UN Member States.  

At the same time, a resolution has been drafted, which would provide universal jurisdiction to prosecute offences, the ability to terminate legal ties with the assailant, and the ability to report the crime without financial cost to the survivor. 

Paris Hilton, granddaughter of the US hotel magnet, was at age 16, woken up by two men with handcuffs and transported across state lines to a residential treatment facility.  

“For two years, I endured physical, psychological and sexual abuse by staff. I felt so powerless. I'm here today because this abuse is still happening,” she said in support of the proposed draft. 

• sexual assault
• rape survivors

Sexual Assault

Para leer en español, haga  clic aquí .

Sexual assault can take many different forms, but one thing remains the same: it’s never the victim’s fault.

What is sexual assault?

The term sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. Some forms of sexual assault include:

• Attempted rape
• Fondling or unwanted sexual touching
• Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetrating the perpetrator’s body
• Penetration of the victim’s body, also known as rape

What is rape?

Rape is a form of sexual assault, but not all sexual assault is rape. The term rape is often used as a legal definition to specifically include sexual penetration without consent. For its Uniform Crime Reports, the FBI defines rape as “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” To see how your state legally defines rape and other forms of sexual assault, visit RAINN's State Law Database .

What is force?

Force doesn’t always refer to physical pressure. Perpetrators may use emotional coercion, psychological force, or manipulation to coerce a victim into non-consensual sex. Some perpetrators will use threats to force a victim to comply, such as threatening to hurt the victim or their family or other intimidation tactics.

Who are the perpetrators?

The majority of perpetrators are someone known to the victim. Approximately eight out of 10 sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, such as in the case of intimate partner sexual violence or acquaintance rape .

The term “date rape” is sometimes used to refer to acquaintance rape. Perpetrators of acquaintance rape might be a date, but they could also be a classmate, a neighbor, a friend’s significant other, or any number of different roles. It’s important to remember that dating, instances of past intimacy, or other acts like kissing do not give someone consent for increased or continued sexual contact.

In other instances the victim may not know the perpetrator at all. This type of sexual violence is sometimes referred to as stranger rape . Stranger rape can occur in several different ways:

• Blitz sexual assault: when a perpetrator quickly and brutally assaults the victim with no prior contact, usually at night in a public place
• Contact sexual assault:  when a perpetrator contacts the victim and tries to gain their trust by flirting, luring the victim to their car, or otherwise trying to coerce the victim into a situation where the sexual assault will occur
• Home invasion sexual assault: when a stranger breaks into the victim's home to commit the assault

Survivors of both stranger rape and acquaintance rape often blame themselves for behaving in a way that encouraged the perpetrator. It’s important to remember that the victim is never to blame for the actions of a perpetrator.

To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org .

Legal Disclaimer

The rape abuse and incest national network (rainn) website provides general information that is intended, but not guaranteed, to be correct and up-to-date. the information is not presented as a source of legal advice. you should not rely, for legal advice, on statements or representations made within the website or by any externally referenced internet sites. if you need legal advice upon which you intend to rely in the course of your legal affairs, consult a competent, independent attorney. rainn does not assume any responsibility for actions or non-actions taken by people who have visited this site, and no one shall be entitled to a claim for detrimental reliance on any information provided or expressed., related content, self-care after trauma.

Whether it happened recently or years ago, self care can help you cope with the short- and long-term effects of a trauma like sexual assault.

Reporting to Law Enforcement

Understanding how to report and learning more about the experience can take away some of the unknowns and help you feel more prepared.

Receiving Medical Attention

After sexual assault, a medical exam can check for help check for injuries, even those you may not be able to see.

Search for support in your local community from more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers.

91¢ of every $1 goes to helping survivors and preventing sexual violence..

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Sexual Assault Awareness

Sexual assault is a widespread issue in the United States, with nearly 325,000 people experiencing rape or sexual assault in 2021, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Moreover, sexual assault can have lifelong physical, emotional and financial impacts. The Office of Justice Programs is committed to providing victim-centered services to survivors of sexual assault, working to help individuals and communities access justice and working to prevent perpetration. As we observe National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month each April, it is important to recognize the need for survivor voices to be elevated, engaged and heard to effect change in our communities and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

Help for Victims of Sexual Assault

If at any time you feel that you are in immediate danger, we strongly urge you to call your local police department's emergency number (911)

National Sexual Assault Hotline

The National Sexual Assault Hotline’s trained support specialists are available to offer support, information, advice or a referral. You are not alone. 800.656.HOPE (4673)  

Public Safety 

The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website  allows users to search all state, tribe and territory sex offender registries in one stop. It’s an unprecedented public safety resource that provides access to sex offender data nationwide for free.

Featured Resources

Sexual Assault Advocate and Service Provider Training (SAASPT) A course designed to teach advocates how to provide competent, effective crisis intervention services to victims and survivors of sexual assault.

OVC Help Series for Crime Victims – Sexual Violence A website and brochure with a definition of sexual violence, what to do if you are the victim of sexual assault and national resources for more information and assistance on where to go for help.

OVC-funded Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) This program provides specialized medical forensic care to sexual assault survivors. The program supports the training and certification of SANEs and the development and implementation of SANE programs at healthcare facilities across the country.

SAKI Sexual Assault Kit Initiative  Thanks to the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, to date more than 199,467 sexual assault kits have been inventoried, 92,944 kits have been sent for testing, and 16,468 DNA hits to the national CODIS database have been made. 

National Crime Victimization Survey Dashboard (N-DASH) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) This dynamic analysis tool allows you to examine National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data on both personal and property victimization, by select victim, household, and incident characteristics.

Strengthening Military-Civilian Community Partnerships to Respond to Sexual Assault The military has its own way of life – its own social structure, unique hierarchy, and even its own laws. Community-based victim service providers who are not familiar with the military may find it baffling and impenetrable. But when a sexual assault involves both community and military providers, both parties must know how to work together to support the victim more effectively.

Take it Down Free online tool to support victims of online child sexual exploitation 

SurvivorSpace SurvivorSpace is a new technology-based resource informed by survivors, for survivors. It is a clearinghouse of resources and information for survivors of child sexual abuse.

Funding Opportunities

Explore OJP's funding opportunities to support victims and victims’ services.

Learn about JustGrants, DOJ's grants management system.

Featured Sexual Assault Awareness Events

• National Sexual Violence Resource Center August 22, 2023 – August 24, 2023 This event brings together over 2,000 advocates and activists invested in ending sexual violence. This annual conference provides opportunities to share information and resources, advance learning, develop new skills, and increase capacity to assert the dignity of all people. The 2023 conference theme of “Equity in Action” will allow the opportunity to build strong partnerships and strategies that strengthen work to end sexual violence.  
• Exploring the Link Between Dating Apps and Sexual Assault: Novel Research Findings April 4, 2023 (recorded) Series: 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Webinar Series: Novel Research On Sexual – Forensic Technology Center of Excellences  Dr. Julie L. Valentine shared background information on dating app usage and user demographics to provide context for research findings on dating apps and sexual assault. Research findings were presented on sexual assaults committed at the first in-person meeting when the victim and assailant met on a dating app compared to other sexual assaults not associated with dating apps. Practice and policy recommendations were shared to improve dating app safety.  
• Solving Violent Crime Through Lawfully "Owed" DNA: Outcomes of Efforts to Address Missed DNA Samples April 11, 2023 (recorded) Series: 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Webinar Series: Novel Research On Sexual – Forensic Technology Center of Excellences This presentation explored the issue of lawfully “owed” DNA, which is a DNA sample from a qualifying offender who should have their DNA sample in CODIS (based on applicable state law), but from whom a sample has never been collected or submitted to a lab for testing. As the first jurisdiction funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to address lawfully owed DNA, this presentation provided information on the scope of the problem in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, OH), the process by which individuals who owe were identified, the outcomes of these efforts, the lessons learned and recommendations for other jurisdictions.  
• Touch DNA Evidence Collection in Sexual Assault Cases: Knowledge to Inform Practice April 18, 2023 (recorded) Series: 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Webinar Series: Novel Research On Sexual – Forensic Technology Center of Excellences Dr. Julie L. Valentine introduced the application of touch DNA in sexual assault cases through a case study. A literature review on touch DNA was summarized to provide contextual information and research on touch DNA analysis findings in groping sexual assault cases will be discussed. The webinar concluded with recommendations for multidisciplinary partners to collect, submit, and analyze evidence in sexual assault cases for touch DNA.  
• Low Prosecution Rates in Sexual Assault Cases: Can We Make Sustainable Improvements? April 25, 2023 (recorded) Series: 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Webinar Series: Novel Research On Sexual – Forensic Technology Center of Excellences Dr. Julie L. Valentine provided background information on the challenges in tracking prosecution outcomes in sexual assault cases of adult victims. Research utilizing the National Institute of Justice Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Practitioner Toolkit in two Utah counties were presented. Variables predicting prosecution were explored. Participants were invited to consider societal, structural, and legislative barriers to prosecution of adult sexual assault cases faced in their jurisdiction to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration.

Upcoming Events

• Preventing Relationship and Sexual Violence on College Campuses
• Tools to Support Campus Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

Campus Sexual Assault Responses (CSAR): Informing Trauma-Informed Policies, Protocols, and Training

Featured sexual assault awareness publications.

• Office for Victims of Crime Grant Programs: Sexual Assault Victim Services FY 2019 Topical Snapshot A summary of the services provided in FY 2019 by 6,837 U.S. organizations and 53 agencies to adult and child victims of sexual assault with funding authorized under the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).  
• Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative SOMAPI assessed the state of research and practice in sex offender management. Among the topics covered in the initiative, and subsequent report, were research on incidence and prevalence of sexual offending, internet-facilitated sexual offending, etiology, recidivism, risk and the effectiveness of interventions for adults and juveniles.

Recent Sexual Assault Awareness Publications

• Building Knowledge About Victim Services
• Sexual Assault Response Team Goals and Motivations for Development
• Using machine learning to assess rape reports: “Signaling” words about victims' credibility that predict investigative and prosecutorial outcomes

The Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Sexual Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking produced a series of factsheets for SOMAPI.

Key Things to Know About Adults Who Sexually Offend Sex offenders vary in the reasons why they offend, who they offend against and their reoffense risk. Specialized supervision — in conjunction with assessment and treatment — can be effective in reducing sex offenders’ recidivism risk.

Adult Sex Offender Recidivism Measuring sex offender recidivism is difficult due to underreporting and different methods used in research studies. Studies with longer follow-up periods show that recidivism increases over time. Furthermore, different “types” of sex offenders have different recidivism rates.

Related Links

• Find sites with information related to: Rape and sexual assault

Popular Topics

Victimization

Sexual Assault Awareness Videos and Podcasts

Review the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy

PREA: What You Need to Know

This 16-minute inmate education video is designed to help adult prisons, jails, and lockups to meet the inmate education requirements of the Department of Justice's National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape (§§115.33 and 115.132).

The video includes an introductory section that can be used during intake. The intake education portion of the film informs incoming inmates about a facility's zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse and ways that victims can report. The full video can be used to provide a comprehensive inmate education program, which covers the definition of sexual abuse and sexual harassment, the absolute right of inmates to be free from such violence, agency policies and procedures toward preventing and responding to it, and how inmates can get support and medical and mental health care after an assault.

The video features a range of experts, including prisoner rape survivors, former PREA inmate peer educators, advocates, and corrections officials. Because inmate education should be facility-specific, the video has information that is applicable to all adult detention settings.

Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Addressing the Backlog of Unsubmitted Kits

SAKI was designed specifically to address the backlog of unsubmitted kits. The focus is to account for every kit in every jurisdiction, make sure it gets tested & investigated, and let the victims know something is happening with their kit. 

Normal is Normal: Effective Use of Medical Evidence in the Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases

This webinar discussed the importance of pediatric sexual assault exams in cases of child sexual abuse and how to present the findings of that exam to a jury. A majority of the exams will be "normal" and that evidence can be used to corroborate a child's statement using expert medical testimony. The testimony of the expert can also be used to explain anatomy which gives prosecutors medical evidence to argue issues of penetration.

Sexual violence is a significant criminal justice problem with long-term effects for its victims. In particular, sexual assault on or related to college campuses across the United States presents a growing public health and economic burden, starting with significant impacts on academic outcomes.

The long-term goal of this study is to support the development of policies, protocols, training, and interventions to strengthen responses to campus sexual assault (CSA) by campus public safety agencies in partnership with campus health and wellness centers, as well as with local law enforcement agencies and health and victim service providers.

The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website

Originally launched in 2005, NSOPW.gov is the only federal website that searches public sex offender registries in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the five principal U.S. territories and participating federally recognized Indian tribes. One search provides comprehensive, up-to-date sex offender information—anytime, anywhere, for free. 

Just DNA Evidence in Sexual Assault Cases

In episode one of our  2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month  mini-season, Just Science sat down with  Dr. Julie L. Valentine , a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, to discuss how large-scale data collection can provide a better understanding of sexual assault cases and improve sexual assault response practices, policy, and education.

Throughout her career, Dr. Valentine identified a gap in data-driven practices for responding to sexual assault cases. Using her experience providing care to survivors, Dr. Valentine embarked on research to collect comprehensive data regarding which factors assist in developing an assailant’s DNA profile so that it can be entered into local, state, and national databases. Listen along as Dr. Valentine describes the relationship between research and providing care, her goals for developing best practices and public policy, and some of her specific research findings.

Dr. Valentine is also participating in the FTCOE's Sexual Assault Awareness Month webinar series where she will present on the use of dating apps, the value of trace/touch DNA, and research on prosecution rates associated with sexual assault cases.

Just Improved Response to Sexual Assault

Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie L. Valentine, the Associate Dean of the Brigham Young University College of Nursing, to discuss the factors contributing to low prosecution rates for sexual assault cases.

Despite national efforts to improve the submission rate of sexual assault kits for forensic testing and to support the investigation of sexual assault cases, Dr. Valentine's research indicates that prosecution rates for sexual assault cases remain low.

Listen along as Dr. Valentine discusses the challenges associated with resource allocation for improved sexual assault response reform, the outcome of her research related to prosecution rates for sexual assault cases, and how future legislation may positively impact response reform efforts.

Just DNA Searches in Codis

In episode three of our  2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month  mini-season, Just Science sat down with  Orlando Salinas ,  Lieutenant Trampas Gooding , and  Jennifer Pollock  from the Texas Department of Public Safety to discuss how statutes regarding lawfully owed DNA and familial DNA searches are utilized in sexual assault investigations. 

When an unknown DNA profile is found in samples collected within a sexual assault kit, the unknown profile is searched within national DNA databases such as the Combined DNA Index System or CODIS. To ensure a comprehensive national database and enhance its use as an investigative tool, all states have legislation requiring the collection of DNA from known offenders of qualifying offenses and subsequent entry into CODIS. Some states also allow the use of familial DNA searching in CODIS. Listen along as Orlando, Lieutenant Gooding, and Jennifer describe how they collect lawfully owed DNA samples, conduct familial DNA searches, and talk about specific cases that were solved by using these investigative tools.

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Call the OWH HELPLINE: 1-800-994-9662 9 a.m. — 6 p.m. ET, Monday — Friday OWH and the OWH helpline do not see patients and are unable to: diagnose your medical condition; provide treatment; prescribe medication; or refer you to specialists. The OWH helpline is a resource line. The OWH helpline does not provide medical advice.

Please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you are experiencing a medical emergency.

Sexual assault

Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity or contact that you do not consent to. Sexual assault can happen through physical force or threats of force or if the attacker gave the victim drugs or alcohol as part of the assault. Sexual assault includes rape and sexual coercion. In the United States, one in three women has experienced some type of sexual violence. 1 If you have been sexually assaulted, it is not your fault, regardless of the circumstances.

What is sexual assault?

Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity or contact, including rape , that happens without your consent . Sexual assault can include non-contact activities, such as someone “flashing” you (exposing themselves to you) or forcing you to look at sexual images. 2

Sexual assault is also called sexual violence or abuse. Legal definitions of sexual assault and other crimes of sexual violence can vary slightly from state to state. If you’ve been assaulted, it is never your fault.

What does sexual assault include?

Sexual assault can include: 3

• Any type of sexual contact with someone who cannot consent , such as someone who is underage (as defined by state laws), has an intellectual disability, or is passed out (such as from drugs or alcohol) or unable to respond (such as from sleeping)
• Any type of sexual contact with someone who does not consent
• Attempted rape
• Sexual coercion
• Sexual contact with a child
• Fondling or unwanted touching above or under clothes

Sexual assault can also be verbal, visual, or non-contact. It is anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual activities or attention. Other examples can include: 4

• Voyeurism, or peeping (when someone watches private sexual acts without consent)
• Exhibitionism (when someone exposes himself or herself in public)
• Sexual harassment or threats
• Forcing someone to pose for sexual pictures
• Sending someone unwanted texts or “sexts” (texting sexual photos or messages)

What does “consent” mean?

Consent is a clear “yes” to sexual activity. Not saying “no” does not mean you have given consent. Sexual contact without consent is sexual assault or rape.

Your consent means:

• You know and understand what is going on (you are not unconscious, blacked out, asleep, underage, or have an intellectual disability).
• You know what you want to do.
• You are able to say what you want to do or don’t want to do.
• You are aware that you are giving consent (and are not impaired by alcohol or drugs).

Sometimes you cannot give legal consent to sexual activity or contact — for example, if you are:

• Threatened, forced, coerced, or manipulated into agreeing
• Not physically able to (you are drunk, high, drugged, passed out, or asleep)
• Not mentally able to (due to illness or disability)
• Under the age of legal consent, which varies by state
• Consent is an ongoing process, not a one-time question. If you consent to sexual activity, you can change your mind and choose to stop at any time, even after sexual activity has started.
• Past consent does not mean future consent. Giving consent in the past to sexual activity does not mean your past consent applies now or in the future.
• Saying “yes” to a sexual activity is not consent for all types of sexual activity. If you consent to sexual activity, it is only for types of sexual activities that you are comfortable with at that time with that partner. For example, giving consent for kissing does not mean you are giving consent for someone to remove your clothes.

What is NOT considered consent in sexual activity?

• Silence. Just because someone does not say “no” doesn’t mean she is saying “yes.”
• Having consented before. Just because someone said “yes” in the past does not mean she is saying “yes” now. Consent must be part of every sexual activity, every time.
• Being in a relationship. Being married, dating, or having sexual contact with someone before does not mean that there is consent now.
• Being drunk or high. Read more about alcohol, drugs, and sexual assault .
• Not fighting back. Not putting up a physical fight does not mean that there is consent.
• Sexy clothing, dancing, or flirting. What a woman or girl wears or how she behaves does not show consent for sexual activity. Only a verbal “yes” means “yes” to sexual activity.

Who commits sexual assault?

Sexual assault is most often committed by someone the victim knows. 1 This may be a friend, an acquaintance, an ex, a relative, a date, or a partner. Less often, a stranger commits sexual assault.

Women and men commit sexual assault, but more than 90% of people who commit sexual violence against women are men. 1

What is the average age a woman is sexually assaulted?

Four of every five women who are raped are raped before age 25. About 40% of women who have been raped, or two in every five, were assaulted before age 18. 1

Can I be sexually assaulted by my partner or spouse?

Yes. Sexual assault is any sexual activity you do not consent to — no matter whom it is with.

Sexual assault by an intimate partner (someone you have a sexual or romantic relationship with) is common. Nearly half of female rape victims were raped by a current or former partner. 1

What do I do if I’ve been sexually assaulted?

If you are in danger or need medical care, call 911. If you can, get away from the person who assaulted you and get to a safe place as fast as you can. You can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) to connect with a sexual assault service provider in your area who can direct you to local resources.

What do I do if I’ve been raped?

• Get to a safe place. Call 911 if you can. The most important thing after a rape is your safety.
• Don’t wash or clean your body. If you shower, bathe, or wash after an assault, you might wash away important evidence. Don’t brush, comb, or clean any part of your body, including your teeth. Don’t change clothes, if possible. Don’t touch or change anything at the scene of the assault. That way, the local police will have physical evidence from the person who assaulted you.
• Get medical care. Call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. You need to be examined and treated for injuries. The doctor or nurse may give you medicine to prevent HIV and some other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)  and emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy. The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) can help you find a hospital with staff members who are trained to collect evidence of sexual assault. Ask for a sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE) or a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) . A doctor or nurse will use a rape kit to collect evidence. This might be fibers, hairs, saliva, semen, or clothing left behind by the attacker. You do not have to decide whether to press charges while at the hospital. You do not need to press charges in order to have evidence collected with a rape kit.
• If you think you were drugged, talk to the hospital staff about testing for date rape drugs , such as Rohypnol and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid). Date rape drugs pass through the body quickly and may not be detectable by the time you get tested.
• Reach out for help. The hospital staff can connect you with the local rape crisis center. Staff there can help you make choices about reporting the sexual assault and getting help through counseling and support groups. You can also call a friend or family member you trust to call a crisis center or hotline for you. Crisis centers and hotlines have trained volunteers and other professionals (such as mental health professionals) who can help you find support and resources near you. One hotline is the National Sexual Assault Hotline  at 800-656-HOPE (4673). If you are in the military, you may also call the Department of Defense Safe Helpline  at 877-995-5247.
• Report the sexual assault to the police. If you want to report the assault to the police, hospital workers can help you contact the local police. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you want to report sexual assault that happened in the past, call your local police non-emergency number or make a report in person at the police station.
• Talk to someone about reporting the assault to the police. If you want to talk to someone first about reporting the assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline  at 800-656-HOPE (4673). An advocate or counselor can help you understand how to report the crime. Even though these calls are free, they may appear on your phone bill. If you think that the person who sexually assaulted you may check your phone bill, try to call from a friend’s phone or a public phone.
• If the person who assaulted you was a stranger, write down as many details as you can remember about the person and what happened. This will help you make a clear statement to police and medical providers about the sexual assault. With good information, they will be better able to help you and find the person who assaulted you.

How can I get help after a sexual assault?

After a sexual assault, you may feel fear, shame, guilt, or shock. All of these feelings are normal, and each survivor can feel a different range of emotions at different times in the recovery process. Sexual assault is never your fault. It may be frightening to think about talking about the assault, but it is important to get help. You can call these organizations any time, day or night. The calls are free and confidential.

• National Sexual Assault Hotline , 800-656-HOPE (4673)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline , 800-799-SAFE (7233)

Each state and territory has organizations and hotlines  to help people who have been sexually assaulted. These numbers can show up on your phone bill or history, so try to use a public phone or a friend’s cellphone.

What steps can I take to be safer in social situations?

If you are assaulted, or if you find yourself in a situation that feels unsafe, it is not your fault. Sexual assault is never the victim’s fault, no matter what she was wearing, drinking, or doing at the time of the assault. You can’t prevent sexual assault, but you can take steps to be safer around others: 5 , 6

• Go to parties or gatherings with friends. Arrive together, check in with each other, and leave together. Talk about your plans for the evening so that everyone knows what to expect.
• Meet first dates or new people in a public place.
• Listen to your instincts or “gut feelings.” Many women who are sexually assaulted know the abuser. If you find yourself alone with someone you don’t trust, leave. Don’t worry about hurting someone’s feelings or being disliked. If you feel uncomfortable in any situation for any reason, leave. If the person is preventing you from leaving, try to get someone else’s attention who can help you get to safety. You are the only person who gets to say whether you feel safe.
• Look out for your friends, and ask them to look out for you. You can play a powerful role in preventing sexual assault of other people. If a friend seems out of it, seems much too drunk for the amount of alcohol she drank, is acting out of character, or seems too drunk to stay safe in general, get her to a safe place. Ask your friends to do the same for you. Learn more about how you can help prevent sexual assault as a bystander .
• Have a code word with your family and friends that means “Come get me; I need help” or “Call me with a fake emergency.” Call or text them and use the code word to let them know you need help.
• Download an app on your phone. Search in your phone’s app store for free women’s safety apps you can download and use if you feel unsafe or are threatened. Some apps share your location with your friends or the police if you need help. You can also set up an app to send you texts throughout the night to make sure you’re safe. If you don’t respond, the app will notify police.
• Be aware of how much you drink. Research shows that about half of sexual assault victims had been drinking when the attack happened. 7 Drinking alcohol does not make the attack your fault, but alcohol — and drugs — can make it more likely that you will be drunk or high later on. If you are drunk or high, you cannot consent to sexual activity or you may not understand what is happening.
• Keep control of your own drink, because someone could add alcohol or date rape drug s  to it.
• Get help or leave right away if you feel drunk and haven’t drunk any alcohol or if the effects of alcohol feel stronger than usual. This can happen if someone put a date rape drug or any kind of drug into your drink. Many drugs have no smell or taste and can cause you to pass out and not remember what happened.
• Be aware of your surroundings. If you’re walking alone, don’t wear headphones so you can hear what’s happening around you. Also, as much as you can, stay in busy, well-lit areas, especially at night.
• Have a plan to get home. If you plan to use a ride share service from an app, make sure your phone is charged or bring a charger. It can help to have a credit card or cash on hand if you need to leave quickly.

Is there a link between alcohol and drugs and sexual assault?

Yes. Research shows that up to three out of four attackers had been drinking alcohol when they sexually assaulted someone. 8

Research also shows that about half of sexual assault victims had been drinking. 8 However, this does not mean that drinking causes sexual assault or that the violence is the victim’s fault. Many attackers use alcohol as a way to make you drunk and unable to consent, understand what is happening, or remember the assault. They may take advantage of a victim who has already been drinking or encourage her to drink more than she might normally drink. If someone sexually assaulted you while you were drunk or passed out, they have committed a crime, no matter how much you had to drink or how old you are.

Some attackers also use drugs called date rape drugs . These drugs are put into drinks — even nonalcoholic drinks — or food without the victim’s knowledge. The drugs can cause memory loss, so victims may not know what happened. Some attackers also use other drugs, such as ecstasy, marijuana, or prescription pills. They may give drugs to someone who takes them willingly or may drug someone without her knowledge.

Someone who is drunk, drugged, or high on drugs cannot give consent. Without consent, any sexual activity is sexual assault.

Does sexual assault have long-term health effects?

Yes, sexual assault can have long-term health effects. People who have experienced sexual violence or stalking by any person or physical violence by an intimate partner are more likely to report: 1

• Long-term pain
• Trouble sleeping
• Poor physical and mental health
• Irritable bowel syndrome

Other health effects can include: 9

• Severe anxiety , stress, or fear
• Abuse of alcohol or drugs
• Eating disorders
• Sexually transmitted infections  
• Self-injury or suicide

Getting support after a sexual assault can help. You are not alone. Reach out to friends or family, talk to a counselor or advocate, or join a support group in person or online.

How can I help someone who was sexually assaulted?

You can help a friend or family member who was sexually assaulted by listening and offering comfort. Remind this person you believe them. Reinforce the message that she or he is not at fault. A victim never causes sexual assault or “asks for it.” You can also explain that it is natural to experience confusion, have problems remembering what happened, or feel angry, numb, or ashamed.

Ask the person whether she would like you to go with her to the hospital or to counseling. If she decides to report the crime to the police, ask whether she would like you to go with her. Let her know that she can get help. Let her know about the hotlines  to call to talk to someone. Get more tips  on helping someone who has been sexually assaulted or abused.

Did we answer your question about sexual assault?

For more information about sexual assault, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out the following resources from other organizations:

• Not Alone  — Information from the Center for Changing Our Campus Culture.
• Reporting to Law Enforcement — Information from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
• Understanding Sexual Violence  (PDF, 382 KB) — Fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Victims Connect Resource Center — Program of the National Center for Victims of Crime.
• Smith, S.G., Chen, J., Basile, K.C., Gilbert, L.K., Merrick, M.T., Patel, N., et al. (2017). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010-2012 State Report . Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Breiding, M.J., Basile, K.C., Smith, S.G., Black, M.C., Mahendra, R.R. (2015). Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements, Version 2.0 . Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Department of Justice. (2016). Sexual Assault .
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Understanding Sexual Violence .
• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. (2016). Safety & Prevention .
• University of Michigan Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. (2016). Drugs & Sexual Assault .
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (n.d.).  Alcohol and Sexual Assault .
• Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P.O., Clinton, A.M., McAuslan, P. (n.d.). Alcohol and Sexual Assault . National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
• Krug, E.G., Dahlberg, L.L., Mercy, J.A., Zwi, A.B., Lozano R. (2002). World report on violence and health . World Health Organization.
• Kathleen C. Basile, Ph.D., Lead Behavioral Scientist, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Kathryn Jones, M.S.W., Public Health Advisor, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Sharon G. Smith, Ph.D., Behavioral Scientist, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) Staff
• HHS Non-Discrimination Notice
• Language Assistance Available
• Accessibility
• Privacy Policy
• Disclaimers
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
• Use Our Content
• Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
• Kreyòl Ayisyen

A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

1101 Wootton Pkwy, Rockville, MD 20852 1-800-994-9662 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays).

16 Messages Of Support And Solidarity For Survivors Of Sexual Assault

At a Virginia college, students and faculty send notes to victims. "Because no one should ever feel alone."

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Dozens of students and faculty members at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., have come forward on a Facebook page to show support for victims of sexual assault, including a W&M athlete who recently lost her rape case.

Hannah Boes, the project's creator and an English and psychology senior, told BuzzFeed she was inspired by the popular "I'm a feminist because" Tumblr .

"I wanted to create some compilation of messages to survivors that they could access anywhere, whether they had come out about their experience or not," Boes said. Since March, she's collected close to 150 photos.

William & Mary has a history of high-profile rape cases , and Boes' project was created in response to general rape culture, she said. But it was "reinvigorated" with the trial of former W&M football player Steve Benedict Casper, who was found not guilty of rape and the attempted strangulation of another student athlete last week.

While it bears a resemblance to the recent case at Florida State University — where the campus has largely turned against the accuser of beloved quarterback Jameis Winston — the Casper trial has "pretty evenly divided" William & Mary, Boes said. "I have acquaintances and even friends who said they think she's making it up."

So after the verdict, Boes reached out to the accuser, who "came out" on her private Facebook page but hasn't yet publicly identified herself, to share these messages of support.

"The way she described it to me, the fact that so many people were expressing solidarity gave her the confidence to say that this verdict doesn't mean this fight is over."

All photos courtesy Hannah Boes/ William & Mary Stands With Survivors .

Related: 27 Survivors Of Sexual Assault Quoting The People Who Attacked Them

buzzfeed.com

NARGES FARAHI, MD, AND MORGAN MCEACHERN, MD

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the treatment of gonococcal infection .

Am Fam Physician. 2021;103(3):168-176

Patient information: See related handout on sexual assault of women , written by the authors of this article.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations.

Sexual violence is a major public health and human rights issue affecting more than 40% of women in the United States during their lifetimes. Although men and women experience sexual assault, women are at greatest risk. Populations uniquely impacted by sexual assault include adolescents; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people; and active-duty military service members. Health consequences of sexual assault include sexually transmitted infections, risk of unintended pregnancy, high rates of mental health conditions (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder), and development of chronic medical conditions (e.g., chronic pelvic pain). Family physicians care for sexual assault survivors at the time of the assault and years after, and care should follow a survivor-centered and trauma-informed framework. Multiple organizations recommend screening all women for a history of sexual violence; however, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends only universal intimate partner violence screening in women of reproductive age. A validated tool, such as the Two-Question Screening Tool, can be implemented. Initial care should include treatment of physical injuries, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections, immunizations, and the sensitive management of psychological issues. Clinicians must comply with state and local requirements for the use of evidence-gathering kits. Many hospitals have developed collection protocols and employ certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners or Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners. Prevention of sexual violence requires a comprehensive approach to address individual, relational, community, and societal factors.

Definitions and Epidemiology

Sexual violence is a broad term that encompasses all sexual acts, committed or attempted, without consent or that occur when the person is unable to consent. 1 The World Health Organization recognizes sexual violence as a global public health and human rights issue with far-reaching health consequences. 2 Sexual assault is a crime involving nonconsensual sexual contact or behavior, which includes rape or attempted rape, unwanted touching, and sexual coercion. 1 In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation developed a comprehensive definition of rape, including any penetration (i.e., with a sexual organ or object) of a body orifice (e.g., vagina, anus, mouth) without consent. 3 State laws related to sex crimes differ, and state-specific information is available in the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network database ( https://apps.rainn.org/policy/ ).

WHAT'S NEW ON THIS TOPIC

Sexual Assault of Women

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey revealed that 43.6% of women experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes, with one in five women experiencing rape or attempted rape.

Approximately 6% of women in the active-duty military reported experiencing sexual assault in the past year.

Among survivors of rape, 16% to 38% report the crime to law enforcement, with similar percentages presenting for medical evaluation.

Widespread underreporting of sexual assault impacts estimates of incidence and prevalence. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reported that 43.6% of women experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes, with one in five women experiencing rape or attempted rape. 4 Fifty to 80% of sexual assaults are committed by a person known to the survivor. 5 , 6 This article focuses on women; however, sexual violence is increasingly reported among men, with one in four experiencing sexual violence during their lifetimes. 4

Populations at increased risk include people who are physically or mentally disabled, adolescents, college students, homeless people, survivors of child maltreatment, people living in poverty, users of drugs or alcohol, people who engage in sex work, and people living in prisons, institutions, or areas of military conflict. 4 , 7 – 10 Among women in the active-duty military, 6.2% surveyed reported experiencing sexual assault in the past year. 11 Approximately one-half of transgender people and bisexual women experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. 12 , 13 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer populations face higher rates of hate-motivated violence, which can involve sexual assault, and are less likely to access the medical system, legal system, and support services because of discrimination and a fear of being “outed.” 4 , 12 Children and adolescents are at risk of sexual violence, and American Family Physician has reviewed complexities unique to this population separately. 14 , 15

Rape is the most underreported crime. 4 Among survivors of rape, 16% to 38% report the crime to law enforcement, with similar percentages presenting for medical evaluation. Approximately two-thirds of survivors will disclose the assault to their primary care physician. 16 , 17 This article reviews key aspects of clinical care for women who are sexual assault survivors. A reference to the American Academy of Family Physicians' policy statement on sexual assault and other recommended resources for clinicians are listed in Table 1 .

Health Sequelae of Sexual Assault

Sexual assault has short- and long-term consequences on women's physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health. Short-term health implications include physical injuries, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and pregnancy. Acute physical injuries range in severity from abrasions and bruises to concussions, fractures, and bullet wounds. The likelihood of pregnancy after sexual assault is approximately 5%, with higher rates among adolescents. 18 When rape does result in pregnancy, patients are more likely to choose to terminate the pregnancy than to continue it. 17 The risk of acquiring an STI after sexual assault is influenced by local prevalence rates and the type of assault. 5 The most common STIs reported in sexual assault survivors are Chlamydia trachomatis , gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. Chlamydia and gonorrhea may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility if untreated. The risk of HIV transmission from vaginal intercourse is 0.1% to 0.2% and for receptive anal intercourse is 0.5% to 3% and may be increased with mucosal trauma. 19

Long-term physical sequelae of sexual assault may include chronic pelvic pain, other chronic pain syndromes, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. These conditions are more likely to present with sexual dysfunction, dysmenorrhea, and menorrhagia. 20 Sexual assault survivors may experience more pain with speculum insertion during a routine pelvic examination. 21

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychological sequela of sexual assault, with rates of 30% to 65%. Predictors of PTSD severity include characteristics of the assault and negative experiences related to disclosure. Ethnic minorities experienced more negative reactions related to disclosure and were more likely to experience PTSD. 22 , 23 For military service members, military sexual trauma is directly related to developing PTSD. 24 Survivors experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, contemplation of suicide, and attempted suicide. 22 , 23

Trauma-Informed Care as a Framework

A survivor-centered and trauma-informed approach should be used when caring for a survivor of sexual assault. 25 , 26 Clinicians must be able to recognize trauma, understand its short- and long-term health implications, and provide a safe and supportive environment when caring for sexual assault survivors. Trauma-informed services require a shift from thinking ‘What is wrong with you?’ to considering ‘What happened to you?’ The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has outlined a framework of trauma-informed care that can be adapted to clinical settings by adhering to the four Rs: (1) Realize the effects of trauma and understand paths to recovery, (2) Recognize signs and symptoms of trauma, (3) Respond by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies and practices, and (4) actively avoid Retraumatization. The principles of this framework and examples of clinical application are listed in Table 2 . 25 , 27 Using this framework can improve the patient experience, optimize patient-clinician relationships, and improve health outcomes. 27 – 29

The World Health Organization, American Medical Association, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend screening all women for a history of sexual violence. 25 Although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends universal intimate partner violence screening in women of reproductive age, they do not provide guidance on broader sexual violence screening. 30 Many women are unlikely to disclose sexual assault unless asked, and most survivors would prefer for clinicians to screen for a history of sexual violence. 31 , 32 Screening tools to identify sexual violence survivors are outlined in Table 3 . 33 The Two-Question Screening Tool is a validated tool that can be implemented in primary care. It includes one screening question each for intimate partner violence and sexual violence: Have you ever been hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by your partner? Have you ever been forced to have sexual activities? 33

Screening tools are limited by the survivor's readiness for disclosure. Some survivors disclose details immediately, but others may disclose long after the event. 32 Clinicians should develop consistent, effective practices for responding to disclosures of sexual victimization. The SAVE (screen, ask, validate, evaluate) method is one model protocol 25 , 34 ( Table 4 34 ) .

Evaluation of Acute Presentation

Most sexual assault survivors who present acutely will go to an urgent care center or emergency department. If patients contact their physician before visiting their office, the patients' concerns must be heard, and their autonomy supported. Patients should receive information on where to report for care and be advised that bathing, changing clothes, urinating, defecating, douching, and delays in seeking care could alter evidence collection. 35

On presentation, informed consent should always be obtained before evaluation or evidence collection. 35 Initial assessment includes evaluation for life-threatening conditions, serious injuries, or psychiatric emergencies. Patients may require urgent stabilization and hospitalization or surgery. When assessing and treating injuries, precautions should be taken to prevent destruction or contamination of evidence (e.g., wear nonpowdered gloves, avoid obtaining urine specimens, avoid giving oral or rectal medications unless needed for stabilization). 26

Family physicians may be the first point of contact for sexual assault survivors presenting to care. Clinicians who evaluate survivors acutely must adhere to medical and legal requirements, and those with limited or no experience should request assistance from trained personnel. The medical forensic examination, collection of evidence, and documentation should be performed by a health care professional trained in the medical and legal requirements for evidence collection whenever possible because improper collection can lead to the inability to prosecute a case. 35 – 37 Many hospitals have developed protocols and employed certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners or Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners to ensure survivors receive trauma-informed care while meeting these requirements. If trained personnel are unavailable, clinicians can seek technical assistance by calling the SAFE Technical Assistance program and accessing a detailed protocol from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. 35 – 37 If a transfer of care is indicated, efforts should be made to minimize delay and loss of evidence. Family physicians can offer to stay with the survivor to provide support in the transfer process.

A complete history is crucial. The clinician should use a supportive and nonjudgmental approach, and documentation should include the patient's own words. Details of the assault, including about sexual contact and exposure to bodily fluids, should be documented. A gynecologic history is pertinent, including disclosure of last consensual sex.

The physical examination begins with an assessment of injuries. Physical injuries are noted in approximately one-half of all reported sexual assaults, with nongenital injuries more common than genital ones. 17 The clinician should perform a detailed examination of the entire body and photograph or draw injuries. In the absence of major trauma, evidence collection is done concurrently with the physical examination. 26

Collection of Evidence

Sexual assault evidence kits, or rape kits, are packages used to collect evidence from a survivor during a medical forensic examination. These kits are standardized and contain forms for documentation, bags and paper sheets for evidence collection, a comb, envelopes, materials for blood samples, swabs, and instructions. Clinicians should document what evidence is collected, when, and by whom. 36

Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnostic testing should be based on the nature of an assault and possible exposures. 35 Table 5 includes diagnostic testing pertinent to the medical evaluation of sexual assault survivors. 19

All sexual assault survivors should receive timely treatment for pregnancy and disease prevention, as indicated ( Table 6 ) . 19 All sexual assault survivors of childbearing age with a negative urine pregnancy test at the time of presentation should be offered emergency contraception within the appropriate time frame. 38 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines for the prevention and treatment of STIs for survivors of sexual assault. Empiric treatment against chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis is recommended for all survivors. 19 Postexposure prophylaxis against HIV should be recommended based on the type of exposure and HIV status of the assailant (if known). Postexposure prophylaxis against hepatitis B with hepatitis B vaccine, with or without hepatitis B immunoglobulin, may be indicated depending on the assailant's hepatitis status and the survivor's vaccination status. Human papillomavirus vaccination is recommended for female survivors nine to 26 years of age who have not previously received the vaccination and for some survivors (ages 26 to 45 years) based on shared clinical decision-making. 19 , 39 Tetanus vaccination is recommended for patients with breaks in the skin or mucosa based on vaccination status ( Table 6 ) . 19

Delayed Presentation

Delayed presentation is common, particularly when the initial disclosure is in the primary care setting. 40 One study of women receiving mental health services for childhood sexual assault reported an average time to disclosure of 16 years. 31 A systematic review of health care professionals' responses to delayed sexual assault disclosures characterized helpful and unhelpful responses. Helpful responses included validating the disclosure, providing emotional support, and providing tangible aid and informational support. Unhelpful responses included blaming the survivor, minimizing or dismissing the experience, and treating the survivor differently after disclosure. 40

Primary prevention of sexual violence requires a comprehensive approach with interventions to address individual, relational, community, and societal factors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed STOP SV, a technical package highlighting effective strategies for prevention ( Table 7 ) . 41 Effective programs confront public attitudes about love and sexuality and teach conflict resolution skills. Programs mobilizing boys and men as allies and focusing on bystander approaches can prevent sexual violence. Empowerment-based training for college-aged women has been shown to decrease the risk of victimization. Transportation policies, campus safety programs, and crime prevention programs have been shown to decrease the incidence of sexual assault. 41

Early recognition by clinicians after sexual assault and effective support and care for survivors can help prevent adverse health sequelae and revictimization. Survivor-centered services such as rape crisis centers provide a healing environment and allow patients to connect to advocates and resources. Survivors who work with advocates report more positive experiences with the medical and legal systems. 41 Clinicians can connect survivors to advocates through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673), which provides referrals to local rape crisis centers, and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center ( https://www.nsvrc.org/ ), which maintains a directory of support organizations.

This article updates previous articles on this topic by Luce, et al. , 42 and Petter and Whitehill . 43

Data Sources: A PubMed search was completed on August 29, 2019, September 21, 2019, March 2, 2020, and August 26, 2020 using the key words sexual assault, sexual violence, and rape. On June 28, 2019 and August 26, 2020 we searched using an evidence summary generated by Essential Evidence Plus and the key words abuse, violence, sexual assault, and rape. Also searched were the Cochrane database and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force using the key words sexual assault, sexual violence, and rape on September 21, 2019 and August 26, 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; Basile KC, Smith SG, Breiding MJ, et al. Sexual violence surveillance: uniform definitions and recommended data elements, version 2.0. 2014. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/sv_surveillance_definitionsl-2009-a.pdf

World Health Organization. World report on violence and health. 2002. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/FullWRVH.pdf

Federal Bureau of Investigation; Criminal Justice Information Services Division; Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Summary reporting system user manual version 1.0. 2013. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://ucr.fbi.gov/leoka/2013/standard-ucr-info/about_ucr_2013_final.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; Smith SG, Zhang X, Basile KC, et al. The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2015 data brief–Updated release. November 2018. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf

Welch J, Mason F. Rape and sexual assault. BMJ. 2007;334(7604):1154-1158.

Tavara L. Sexual violence. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2006;20(3):395-408.

Acierno R, Resnick H, Kilpatrick DG, et al. Risk factors for rape, physical assault, and posttraumatic stress disorder in women: examination of differential multivariate relationships. J Anxiety Disord. 1999;13(6):541-563.

Balsam KF, Rothblum ED, Beauchaine TP. Victimization over the lifespan: a comparison of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual siblings. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2005;73(3):477-487.

Lawyer S, Resnick H, Bakanic V, et al. Forcible, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault among undergraduate women. J Am Coll Health. 2010;58(5):453-460.

U.S. Department of Justice; National Institute of Justice; Fisher BS, Cullen FT, Turner MG. The sexual victimization of college women. December 2000. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/182369.pdf

U.S. Department of Defense. Department of defense releases fiscal year 2019 annual report on sexual assault in the military. April 30, 2020. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2170913/department-of-defense-releases-fiscal-year-2019-annual-report-on-sexual-assault/

National Center for Transgender Equality; James SE, Herman JL, Rankin S, et al. The report of the 2015 U.S. transgender survey. December 2016. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; Walters ML, Chen J, Breiding MJ. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation. January 2013. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_sofindings.pdf

Randel A. AAP releases report on the evaluation of children when sexual abuse is suspected. Am Fam Physician. 2014;89(10):830-832. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2014/0515/p830.html

Kodner C, Wetherton A. Diagnosis and management of physical abuse in children. Am Fam Physician. 2013;88(10):669-675. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/1115/p669.html

U.S. Department of Justice; Office of Justice Programs; Bureau of Justice Statistics; Rennison CM. Rape and sexual assault: reporting to police and medical attention, 1992–2000. August 2002. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsarp00.pdf

National Institute of Justice; Office of Justice Programs; Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: findings from the national violence against women survey. 2000. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf

Holmes MM, Resnick HS, Kilpatrick DG, et al. Rape-related pregnancy: estimates and descriptive characteristics from a national sample of women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1996;175(2):320-324.

Workowski KA, Bolan GA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015 [published correction appears in MMWR Recomm Rep . 2015;64(33):924]. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1-137.

Meltzer-Brody S, Leserman J, Zolnoun D, et al. Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in women with chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol. 2007;109(4):902-908.

Weitlauf JC, Finney JW, Ruzek JI, et al. Distress and pain during pelvic examinations: effect of sexual violence. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;112(6):1343-1350.

Campbell R. The psychological impact of rape victims. Am Psychol. 2008;63(8):702-717.

Ullman SE, Filipas HH. Predictors of PTSD symptom severity and social reactions in sexual assault victims. J Trauma Stress. 2001;14(2):369-389.

Kang H, Dalager N, Mahan C, et al. The role of sexual assault on the risk of PTSD among Gulf War veterans. Ann Epidemiol. 2005;15(3):191-195.

ACOG Committee Opinion No. 777: Sexual assault. Obstet Gynecol. 2019;133(4):e296-e302.

Subramanian S, Green JS. The general approach and management of the patient who discloses a sexual assault. Mo Med. 2015;112(3):211-217.

Sherman MD, Hooker S, Doering A, et al. Communication tips for caring for survivors of sexual assault. Fam Pract Manag. 2019;26(4):19-23. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0700/p19.html

SAMHSA's Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative. SAMHSA's concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. July 2014. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/userfiles/files/SAMHSA_Trauma.pdf

Sweeney A, Filson B, Kennedy A, et al. A paradigm shift: relationships in trauma-informed mental health services. BJ Psych Adv. 2018;24(5):319-333.

Curry SJ, Krist AH, Owens DK, et al. Screening for intimate partner violence, elder abuse, and abuse of vulnerable adults: US Preventive Services Task Force final recommendation statement. JAMA. 2018;320(16):1678-1687.

Read J, McGregor K, Coggan C, et al. Mental health services and sexual abuse: the need for staff training. J Trauma Dissociation. 2006;7(1):33-50.

Berry KM, Rutledge CM. Factors that influence women to disclose sexual assault history to health care providers. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2016;45(4):553-564.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; Basile KC, Hertz MF, Back SE. Intimate partner violence and sexual violence victimization assessment instruments for use in healthcare settings: version 1. 2007. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv/ipvandsvscreening.pdf

Florida Council Against Sexual Violence. How to screen your patients for sexual assault: a guide for health care professionals. 2012. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://fcasv.org/sites/default/files/SAVE%202012.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice; Office on Violence Against Women. A national protocol for sexual assault medical forensic examinations: adults/adolescents, second edition. April 2013. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ovw/241903.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice; Office of Justice Programs. National best practices for sexual assault kits: a multidisciplinary approach. 2017. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/250384.pdf

Campbell R, Patterson D, Lichty LF. The effectiveness of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs: a review of psychological, medical, legal, and community outcomes. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2005;6(4):313-329.

Batur P, Kransdorf LN, Casey PM. Emergency contraception. Mayo Clin Proc. 2016;91(6):802-807.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HPV vaccine recommendations. March 17, 2002. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.html

Lanthier S, Du Mont J, Mason R. Responding to delayed disclosure of sexual assault in health settings: a systematic review. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2018;19(3):251-265.

Basile KC, DeGue S, Jones K, et al. STOP SV: a technical package to prevent sexual violence. Atlanta: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016:11. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/sv-prevention-technical-package.pdf

Luce H, Schrager S, Gilchrist V. Sexual assault of women. Am Fam Physician. 2010;81(4):489-495. Accessed July 14, 2020. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0215/p489.html

Petter LM, Whitehill DL. Management of female sexual assault. Am Fam Physician. 1998;58(4):920-926. Accessed July 14, 2020. https://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0915/p920.html

St Cyr S, Barbee L, Workowski KA, et al. Update to CDC's treatment guidelines for gonococcal infection, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020:1911-1916.

Continue Reading

More in AFP

More in pubmed.

Copyright © 2021 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP.  See permissions  for copyright questions and/or permission requests.

Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Family Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Congress Will Read Aloud The Full Statement From The Stanford Sexual Assault Victim

Senior Editor/Reporter, The Huffington Post

The widely discussed letter from the woman who was sexually assaulted by former Stanford University student Brock Turner will be read in its entirety on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives next week.

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) will host a one-hour special order on the evening of June 15. M embers of Congress, both men and women, will read the Stanford survivor’s statement in full over the course of an hour. Members from both parties are expected to participate.

Speier and Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) both read excerpts from the victim's statement on the House floor Thursday morning. The readings officially put the words of a sexual assault victim into the congressional record, making it a documented part of American history.

"Her bravery inspires me, as I hope it inspires you," Speier said on the floor Thursday.

Reading the statement into the Congressional record, Speier told The Huffington Post in an interview Thursday, is " a symbolic act that underscores the gravity of the offense."

Today I read part of the Stanford rape survivor's statement on the House floor: https://t.co/vpL1lLBN13 #BrockTurnerisaRapist — Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) June 9, 2016

The victim's statement, Speier continued, "so dramatically and powerfully reflects the damage, the scarring that conduct has done on the woman. It's a very extraordinarily powerful statement. I hope that by reading it into the record, by elevating this issue, that we're going to take some steps to provide leadership on the federal level to address sexual assault on campus and in the military."

Turner was found guilty in March of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on Stanford's campus in 2015. A judge denied prosecutors' request for a six-year prison sentence last week, instead sentencing Turner to six months in county jail, though he's scheduled to be released even sooner than that, on Sept. 2 .

“She wrote the Bible on what happens to sexual assault victims.” - U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), referring to Brock Turner's victim's statement

Poe, a former felony prosecutor and judge in Texas, condemned the six-month jail sentence for Turner.

"Car thieves get more than six months in jail, and this is a crime against a person," Poe told HuffPost on Thursday. "The judge was wrong on this."

For the victim, he continued, "it' s a life sentence of turmoil, guilt, hopelessness, being alone, and I know that because victims have told me that over the years."

The letter, which the victim read in court at Turner's sentencing last week, has been viewed more than 6 million times on BuzzFeed , inspired a response from Vice President Joe Biden and was read on air by a CNN host and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio .

The author of the letter "wrote the Bible on what happens to sexual assault victims," Poe said.

Poe said he'd like to meet the victim, but respects that she wants to stay anonymous. "She's quite a remarkable person," he said.

The victim has said she intends to stay anonymous to make "a statement that all of these people are fighting for someone that they don’t know."

"People must understand rape is one of the most violent crimes a person can commit," Speier said on the floor. "Not, as Mr. Turner's father said, ' 20 minutes of action .'"

Tyler Kingkade is a national reporter, focusing on higher education and sexual violence, and is based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected] , or find him on Twitter: @tylerkingkade .

Related Coverage: If Not For 2 Strangers, Brock Turner May Have Never Been Arrested How A Stanford Student Accused Of Assaulting Multiple Women Graduated CNN Host Lets Sexual Assault Victim’s Powerful Statement Speak For Itself Let’s Not Ignore The Importance Of Brock Turner’s Whiteness The Heroes Who Stopped Brock Turner Don’t Want This To Be About Them Stanford Has A Trust Problem When It Comes To Sexual Assault Brock Turner’s Dad Gave Tone-Deaf Plea For Lenient Sentence In Son’s Sexual Assault Case

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

It's another trump-biden showdown — and we need your help, the future of democracy is at stake, your loyalty means the world to us.

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.

Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?

HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.

It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.

But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.

Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.

Dear HuffPost Reader

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.

Popular in the Community

More in politics.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Call Us Now 1-888-477-2363

Verifying Personal Trauma and Military Sexual Trauma Stressors

Mary Klements, Claims Advocate Updated: August 28, 2018

When a veteran files a claim for PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), the VA must make reasonable efforts to verify the occurrence of the event which caused the mental disorder. The event could range from terrorist attacks, car accidents,  natural disasters, personal trauma, and others. Because not all stressors are the same, the VA has guidelines for different types of stressors. In a previous post, we discussed the circumstances under which the VA is and is not required to corroborate stressors. In this post, we will discuss another type of stressor: personal trauma.

How the VA Classifies Personal Trauma

Personal trauma for the purposes of  VA MST claims  refers to stressor events involving harm perpetrated by a person who is not considered part of an enemy force. This can include a traumatic event such as physical assault, battery, domestic violence, robbery, mugging, stalking, harassment, etc. Military sexual trauma (MST) is a subset of personal trauma and refers to sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape that occurs in a military setting.

VA Requires Credible Evidence for Personal Trauma Claims

In order for the VA to consider a claim for service-connection for PTSD due to personal trauma, there must be credible evidence to support the veteran’s assertion that the stressful event occurred. This, however, does not mean that the veteran must be able to supply  actual proof  that the traumatic experience occurred. This just means that there needs to be at least a proximate balance of positive and negative evidence that the event occurred towards trauma symptoms.

Note : Personal trauma cases are a rare exception to the active/inactive duty rule. The VA has allowed that veterans whose stressor occurred during inactive duty for training are eligible to service connection in the same manner as those whose stressor occurred during active duty or active duty for training.

What qualifies as “credible evidence”?

In many cases of personal trauma, especially in MST cases, there are often coinciding factors which prevent the veteran from being able or willing to report a personal trauma incident. Therefore many incidents of personal trauma are not officially reported, and the victims of personal trauma may find it difficult to produce evidence to support the occurrence of the stressor.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has recognized this reality and has determined that, in the absence of official reports, claim developers should look for alternative evidence that may demonstrate the presence of markers. These markers include signs, events, or circumstances indicating the possibility that the claimed stressor occurred. This would be considered secondary evidence.

According to the VA’s internal manual, secondary evidence may include the following:

• Lay statements
• Indicating increased use or abuse of leave without an apparent reason, such as family obligations or family illness, or
• Describing episodes of depression, panic attacks , or anxiety, but no identifiable reasons for the episodes, and
• Evidence of behavioral changes that occurred around the time of the incident, including
• Visits to a medical or counseling clinic or dispensary without a specific diagnosis or specific ailment
• Use of pregnancy tests or tests for sexually-transmitted diseases around the time of the incident
• Sudden requests that the veteran’s military occupational series or duty assignment be changed without other justification
• Changes in performance and performance evaluations
• Increased or decreased use of prescription medications
• Increased use of over-the-counter medications
• Evidence of substance use and substance abuse, such as alcohol or drugs
• Increased disregard for military or civilian authority
• Obsessive behavior such as overeating or undereating
• Increased interest in health care tests for HIV or sexually transmitted diseases
• Unexplained economic or social behavior changes
• Treatment for physical injuries around the time of the claimed trauma, but not reported as a result of the trauma, and/or
• The breakup of a primary relationship.

This is why it is very important to have a family member, spouse, significant other, or loved one write a statement about any behavior changes or emotional reactions that they might have noticed during or after the veteran’s period of service. These become valuable testimonials that can significantly help the veteran obtain compensation benefits for his or her mental health disorder.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

As you found this post useful...

Share with others on social media!

We are sorry that this post was not as useful for you!

Help us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

You Might Also Like

How Can Veterans Show Evidence of Military Sexual Trauma? Sexual assault continues to be a serious problem in the military. In 2018 alone, 20,500 service members were raped or sexually assaulted. This…

A topic that is rather difficult to discuss is military sexual trauma. Some veterans may have experienced sexual trauma while serving in the military. Veterans who have experienced this, often…

Military Sexual Trauma (MST).  Just these three words alone evoke such terrible memories for those service men and women who have been affected by it.  It is not a diagnosis,…

Mary Klements, Claims Advocate

Helping veterans nationwide. you don’t have to do this alone..

Our firm was founded in 1986 in Orlando, Florida. Since that time, we have provided compassionate yet assertive representation for our clients.

While we still have our home base in Florida, we represent clients nationwide. Learn more about us

Free Case Evaluation

Click to complete our:

Veterans Disability Claim Contact Us Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

OR CALL 1-888-477-2363

Office Locations

Please call for an appointment before visiting:

Mail Processing Center: P.O. Box 449, Deland, FL 32721

Orlando, FL: 605 E. Robinson Street Suite 635, Orlando, FL 32801 Deland, FL: 1607 South State Road 15A Suite 12 Deland, FL 32720

Satellite Offices Washington, D.C.: 1776 I Street, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C 20006 Houston, TX: 2925 Richmond Ave, 12th Floor, Houston, TX 77098 Los Angeles, CA: 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 1101, Los Angeles, CA 90025 San Jose, CA: 2880 Zanker Road, Ste. 203, San Jose, CA 95134 Phoenix, AZ: One Renaissance Tower, Two North Central Avenue, 18th & 19th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Tucson, AZ: One South Church Avenue, 12th Floor, Tucson, AZ, 85701 Chicago, IL: 332 S. Michigan Avenue, Floors 8 and 9, Chicago, IL 60604 Brooklyn, NY: 300 Cadman Plaza West, One Pierrepont Plaza, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201 Cincinnati, OH: 300 E Business Way, Suite 200, Summit Woods Corporate Center, Cincinnati, OH, 45241 Cleveland, OH: 600 Superior Ave. East, Fifth Third Building, Suite 1300, Cleveland, OH, 44114 Columbus, OH: 100 E. Campus View Boulevard, Suite #250, Columbus, OH, 43235 Portland, OR: 650 N. E. Holladay Street, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97232 Philadelphia, PA: 1 International Plaza, Suite 550, Philadelphia, PA, 19113 Pittsburgh, PA: 201 Penn Center Boulevard, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15235 Richmond, VA: 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA, 23225 Seattle, WA: 506 2nd Ave, Suite 1400, Seattle, WA 98104

How can we help you?

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• The Attorney General
• Organizational Chart
• Budget & Performance
• Privacy Program
• Press Releases
• Photo Galleries
• Guidance Documents
• Publications
• Information for Victims in Large Cases
• Justice Manual
• Business and Contracts
• Why Justice ?
• DOJ Vacancies
• Legal Careers at DOJ
• Our Offices

Archived Press Releases

Archived News

Para Notícias en Español

Justice Department Announces Framework for Prosecutors to Strengthen National Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

The Justice Department today announced an important new resource for prosecutors. The Framework for Prosecutors to Strengthen Our National Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Involving Adult Victims , written by prosecutors for prosecutors, sets out five principles that, if implemented, will lead to better outcomes for victims, safer communities, and greater accountability for perpetrators of sexual assault and domestic violence.

“When investigating and prosecuting the heinous crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence, prosecutors must pursue justice in a manner that does not retraumatize victims and survivors,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This framework for prosecutors reflects the Justice Department’s commitment to strengthening our collective response to sexual assault and domestic violence, and to setting the standard for how prosecutors should respond to victims and survivors.”

Declinations of meritorious allegations may result from misconceptions about how crimes involving sexual assault and domestic violence are committed and reported, how victims give their accounts, and the evidence required to prove their accounts beyond a reasonable doubt. This guide addresses that phenomenon by discussing: (1) relying on the evidentiary value of the victim’s account to frame the investigation; (2) the fundamental importance of prosecutors, investigators, and victim specialists working together and meeting with victims; (3) using the law and evidentiary rules effectively; (4) being thoughtful about what justice and accountability look like; and (5) sustaining a productive, healthy, and committed workforce by redefining success– all of which are rooted in a prosecutor’s primary obligation to seek the truth and uphold the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.

“Achieving justice for victims and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence is one of the Department’s highest priorities,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This guide provides a framework that we encourage prosecutors throughout the country to use when evaluating, investigating, and prosecuting these critically important cases.”

More than 120 state, Tribal, military, and federal prosecutors, as well as advocates, academics, and investigators from an array of jurisdictions were consulted in developing this guide. The principles set forth in this guide are designed to encourage and assist prosecutors of all levels of experience to handle cases involving sexual assault and domestic violence. This guide further serves as a complement to the Justice Department’s 2022 updated guidance on Improving Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence by Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias .

“The Justice Department is committed to strengthening the prosecution of sexual assault and domestic violence crimes and ensuring a trauma-informed approach to working with victims,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “This guide provides a practical, accessible framework that prosecutors can use when evaluating, investigating, and prosecuting these crimes. We thank everyone who contributed to this guide for sharing their expertise and experience and for their years of dedicated work to address and combat sexual assault and domestic violence.”

“The framework announced today reaffirms our commitment to expanding access to justice for all survivors, who deserve respect and the right to be heard,” said Director Rosie Hidalgo of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). “Enhancing the prosecution response to sexual assault and domestic violence in a trauma-informed manner is a key piece in ending gender-based violence, as part of a broader coordinated community response that includes services and support for survivors, and can have a real, immediate impact on the safety of survivors and entire communities.”

In conjunction with this guide, OVW launched a new webpage with resources designed to assist prosecutors in implementing the guide and its principles.

OVW provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. In addition to overseeing federal grant programs, OVW funds national training and technical assistance and undertakes initiatives in response to special needs identified by communities facing acute challenges. Learn more at www.justice.gov/ovw .

Related Content

The Attorney General is always a tough act to follow. But I will now take my best shot at it and, if I can, say a few words about the...

Good morning. Thanks, Kristen. And thanks to all of you.

The Justice Department announced today that it secured a settlement agreement with the Cherry Creek School District (CCSD), one of the largest school districts in Colorado, to significantly improve language...

Domestic Violence

25 statements that portend intimate partner violence, these are the words of power and control to watch out for..

Posted May 26, 2024 | Reviewed by Hara Estroff Marano

• What Is Domestic Violence?
• Find a therapist to heal from domestic violence
• Rates of domestic violence, or intimate partner violenc, are increasing each year.
• Prevention efforts require knowing the red flags of power and control and believing victims the first time.
• There are common phrases used by abusers to maintain the secrecy and silence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive problem affecting millions worldwide regardless of race, age, and socioeconomic status. IPV includes a progressive pattern of abusive behavior that can be physical, emotional, psychological, and/or sexual .

Some may find it surprising that in this modern era, women are abused sexually and physically more than ever before. Nearly one in two women (47.3% or 59 million) in the United States report experiencing IPV at some time during their lifetime (Leemis et al., 2022). According to the World Health Organization, one in three women (30%) globally experience some physical or sexual violence . In the U.S., more than 50% of female rape survivors were raped by an intimate partner (Leemis et al., 2022).

Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner, which equates to more than 10 million survivors annually (CDC, 2022). In national surveys, 32.5% of women (40.5 million) reported severe physical violence including being hit (18.9%), beaten (15.2%), kicked (12.2%), slammed against something (24.4%), hurt by choking or suffocating (16.2%), burned on purpose (2.8%), or having had a knife (3.9%) or gun (4.7%) used on them (Leemis et al, 2022).

The statement by Cassie Ventura after recent release of the video showing physical assault by her former boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs is notable: “My only ask is that everyone open your heart to believing victims the first time.”

Her words imply that she was not believed until a video became proof.

Domestic violence “broke me down to someone I never thought I would become,” Ventura explained. She advises, “Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone.”

In the U.S., police receive more than 20,000 calls from domestic violence hotlines each day (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence fact sheet)​. However, many victims suffer in silence, never reaching out for help.

Often, warning signs emerge early in relationships. It would be wise for all young adults to learn them and heed them.

According to the Duluth Model , the root of IPV is power and control. Abusers keep their partners silent and submissive through a variety of tactics, including isolation from others. Usually, there is a distinct difference in the abuser’s behavior when alone and when around people. Controlling and argumentative behaviors can escalate into physical and sexual assault at any time. An abuser uses promises, threats, coercion, fear , and even tears to maintain secrecy, silence, power, and control.

Words to Watch Out For

If a partner’s words and behaviors feel controlling, unpredictable, fear-inducing, and coercive, it's time to reach out for help immediately. The National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, offers free, 24-hour, confidential support services.

The following words are potential red flags to IPV:

You don’t need to be around those people. Your family (or friends) are toxic.

The world is not safe. I need to protect you. Ask me before you do anything.

We will be together forever. I’ll make all your dreams come true. I’ll take care of you forever. You can quit your job–it’s terrible anyway.

I can’t live without you. If you ever leave, I’ll kill myself.

If you love me, you will do this (sexual act or other sacrifice).

You are really hurting me like I’ve never felt before. You are evil.

You better answer immediately when I text or call you.

Who are you texting? Give me your phone.

If you cheat on me, you will pay.

My job stress makes me angry. It’s not my fault.

My ex was totally crazy.

No, you cannot have another drink.

Do not wear that. You have no fashion taste. Put this on.

No, you cannot go home. You need to stay here with me. It will look bad. I’m driving us home.

You cannot be friends with that guy. I’m blocking him on your phone.

You are too loud and obnoxious. People think you talk too much. Keep your mouth shut.

Those women are not your friends. Stay away from them.

All couples fight. You are overreacting. It’s all your fault.

Don’t you even pretend to be scared. I’ll give you something to be scared about.

I will ruin you if you tell anyone.

The kids will never see you.

I am the man of this household. You had better do what I say, or you will be on the streets.

You will end up with nothing and alone.

Nobody likes you. Everyone loves me.

You have no one. No one will believe you.

Many victims of intimate partner abuse rationalize , deny, or minimize their partner’s words, behaviors, and interactions. Women often say, “I thought he would change. He promised things would be different,” or “I stayed because he told me I was the love of his life.”

Survivors of IPV may express the following fear-based thoughts that minimize, deny, or excuse abusive behaviors and keep them stuck in dangerous relationships:

He’ll change. He promised.

This time will be different.

He’s helped me so much—I owe him.

I’m unhappy, but what choice do I have?

He’ll ruin me. He’ll ruin my life.

He might really hurt me if I leave.

I’ll never see my kids or family if I leave.

My career or my life will be over.

He might kill me. I don’t know what to do.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing any form of abuse, please call for help immediately. You do not have to weather this alone. There is hope—outside of the relationship. Change requires belief (the first time) and empowered action to protect and heal. Prevention efforts must evolve beyond #metoo into #NoMore

Leemis RW, Friar N, Khatiwada S, Chen MS, Kresnow M, Smith SG, Caslin S, & Basile KC. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Intimate Partner Violence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cheralyn Leeby, Ph.D., LMFT, has over 30 years of training and experience as a Florida Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is an adjunct professor at the University of North Florida, Brooks College of Health, Department of Behavioral Health.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

An official website of the United States government

Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC)

Department of the navy, cnrse naval air station joint reserve base new orleans n91, the primary purpose of this position is to serve as the designated program manager of sexual assault victim support services, oversees local implementation and execution of the sapr program, and ensures comprehensive victim services are provided through a coordinated community response..

• Accepting applications

Open & closing dates

05/21/2024 to 06/04/2024

Annually $86,962 - Please note this salary is not negotiable

Pay scale & grade

1 vacancy in the following location:

• New Orleans, LA

Telework eligible

Travel required.

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Relocation expenses reimbursed

Yes—You may qualify for a relocation location incentive in accordance with agency policy. This is not a full government funded move. Please see the additional information section for more information.

Appointment type

Work schedule.

Competitive

Promotion potential

Job family (series).

0101 Social Science

Supervisory status

Security clearance, position sensitivity and risk.

Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

Announcement number

NOLA-24-12424050

Control number

This job is open to.

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

Please see the "Who May Apply" section under the Qualifications section.

• Implements the SAPR program in the assigned AOR and conducts ongoing assessment of its consistency and effectiveness.
• Communicates directly with the installation Commander to provide regular updates and assist the Commander with meeting SAPR Program requirements.
• Assist Installation and Fleet Commanders in their AOR, as assigned, in executing the goals of the SAPR Program, and may be required to provide Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) duties and responsibilities in a deployed environment.
• Identifies program needs, challenges and presents recommendations and assistance to influence policy compliance issues. Stays abreast of Department of Defense (DoD), Department of the Navy (DON), and CNIC policies, and interprets/articulates their meaning, priorities and intent.
• Assist with preparations for visits from inspecting authorities.
• Co-chairs the sexual assault Case Management Group and ensures all unrestricted reports of sexual assault are presented monthly until transfer/closure and assures that the needs and concerns of the victim are met and shared with the commanding authorities.
• Interfaces with military and civilian agencies to identify resources and services to promote availability of victim support systems. Liaises with cognizant departments/agencies (e.g., medical, base security, Naval Criminal Investigation Service, Victims' Legal Counsel and chaplains to facilitate a team approach in sexual assault cases.
• Ensures collection of data in compliance with policies and guidance.
• Provides consultation support for installation-specific arrangements (i.e., Memorandums of Agreement or Understanding to facilitate the timely exchange of information between installation victim support agencies and other commands/activities on cases involving sexual assault of service members and their adult dependents, civilians, and contractors, while ensuring compliance with Navy Confidentiality Policy.
• Facilitates the development and collaboration of installation SAPR public awareness campaigns to include planning of local events.
• Develops and maintains a current and comprehensive file of Navy and civilian resources for victims of sexual assault.
• Collaborates with local community crisis counseling centers to augment or enhance the installation SAPR Program.
• Trains commands, SAPR Victim Advocates (VAs), Unit SAPR VAs, and others as requested utilizing standardized curriculum provided by CNIC Headquarters SAPR.
• Ensures command SAPR personnel are properly trained to provide briefings to commands that include proper reporting procedures, maintaining victim confidentiality, and available victim support services.
• Documents and maintains current records in the Fleet and Family Support Management Information System (FFSMIS), as required.
• Tracks the status of the SAPR Program within their AOR to include, issues, trends, areas needing improvement, effectiveness of local case management, and installation climate.
• Maintains victim and incident case information, subject demographics and disposition, and training records through the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database (DSAID) in accordance with regulatory and policy guidance as established by DoD and Navy.
• Retains all DD Forms 2910 in accordance with regulatory and policy guidance as established by DoD and Navy.
• Exercises oversight responsibility for UVAs when they are providing victim advocacy services.
• Maintains oversight of all aspects of victim advocacy services provided by SAPR VAs and tracks, at a minimum, what subordinate units require SAPR VAs, a roster of those SAPR VAs and, status of their training, and rotation dates.
• Ensures victim advocacy services include: the capacity to respond by telephone and in person 24 hours a day, providing support and assistance to victims of sexual assault, including response within 60 minutes of the referral, either telephonically or in person and procedures for contacting SAPR VAs, as well as specific protocols that govern the duties and responsibilities of the SAPR VA.
• Ensures SAPR personnel receive proper training to fulfill requirements of their positions.

Requirements

Conditions of employment.

• Must meet Federal Employment suitability requirements and successful completion of background investigation. Background investigations are conducted using fingerprint identification and completion of background inquiry forms.
• Must successfully pass the E-verify employment verification check. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of employment.
• You must go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9.
• May be required to pass pre-employment examinations.
• Must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or U.S. National.
• A valid State driver's license is required to operate motor vehicles.
• Must have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Position requires employee to obtain/maintain eligibility for a Secret security clearance.
• An Access National Agency Check Investigation (ANACI) is required via SF86 Security Form.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities, as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. All non-government positions identified on your resume must include complete address and to and from dates. Government positions must include pay plan, series, grade, to and from dates and address of the agency/organization.

Minimum of two years specialized experience (with education) directly related to the duties described above. Qualifying experience must have been equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression.

Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Knowledge of the dynamics of sexual assault and local community resources for sexual assault victims.
• Knowledge of the DoD, and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, along with local, state, and federal laws and military regulations pertaining to victims of sexual assault is preferred.
• Knowledge and skill in developing and adhering to program management plans.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, DSAID and FFSMIS.
• Skill in the use of office software applications and required management data systems to enter data, prepare reports, and develop information.
• Skill in providing victim advocacy and working with victims of sexual assault.
• Ability and skillset to provide effective trainings and briefings.
• Ability to identify needs, trends, and performance measures to evaluate program effectiveness and provide recommendations for process improvements.
• Ability to use data management and reporting systems to collect and organize data drawn from databases.
• Ability to compose written reports and material clearly, concisely, and effectively.
• Ability to maintain accurate statistical framework for program data collection and reports.
• Ability to understand, be sensitive to, and have empathy for victims.
• Ability to develop trusting helping relationships and to work effectively with individuals and families from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Strong analytical ability to intervene in crisis situations, using sound professional judgment, ethical practice, and common sense.
• Ability to work cooperatively with military and civilian medical, social service, law enforcement, and legal personnel on behalf of victims.
• Ability to drive a government or personal vehicle in order to travel to training, coordinate tasks/actions with clients, command and military and civilian agencies within the local area of the installation.
• Ability to effectively communicate both orally and in writing with all levels of management, staff, and military personnel and their families.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

As part of the application process, you must complete and submit an occupational questionnaire and your RESUME MUST SUPPORT AND VALIDATE YOUR ANSWERS or you may be removed from consideration.

ONLY THE MOST HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WILL BE REFERRED. IF MANAGEMENT DOES NOT WISH TO SELECT A HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATE, THEY MAY REQUEST A REFERRAL LIST INCLUDING WELL OR QUALIFIED APPLICANTS.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating and/or appointment eligibility. PLEASE READ THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ENSURE ALL REQUIREMENTS ARE ADDRESSED IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE.

RELOCATION AUTHORIZED

• NO Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) is authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest

KEY REQUIREMENTS/CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• You must be a US Citizen.
• Males must be registered or exempt from Selective Service. https://www.sss.gov/register/
• Selectee must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Selectee may be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
• Selectee is required to participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• Social Security Card is required.
• Satisfactorily complete an employment verification (E-VERIFY) check.
• A favorable background is a requirement of this position. Failure to obtain and maintain a favorable background may result in the withdrawal of the position offer or removal.

NOTE: Applicants have the ability to perform an E-Verify Self Check to confirm employment eligibility at http://www.uscis.gov/mye-verify/self-check . Although a Self-Check is not mandatory, it can be a useful tool for applicants to find out if there is a problem with their employment eligibility records and resolve any issues before taking a job.

Four-year degree in behavior or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position OR A combination of education and experience (i.e. equivalent of two years' undergraduate credit, plus at least four years of experience in victim assistance or advocacy within military or civilian sector, two must be as a SARC or Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocate). Transcripts are required to show progress level.

Additional information

The Federal government offers a number of exceptional benefits to its employees. Benefits you get to enjoy while working for our TEAM include but are not limited to:

• Comprehensive benefits package (medical, dental, life insurance, spouse & dependent life insurance, long-term disability, retirement, and 401(k) savings plan, annual and sick leave, tuition reimbursement, etc.).
• Stability of Federal Civilian Service
• People with passion for doing work that matters
• Quality of Work Life Balance

Some positions have special requirements- Position is a non-critical, sensitive, position requiring access to IT II system and/or access to PII. An access National Agency Check investigation (ANACI) is required via the SF 86 security form.- Required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450. Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually, in accordance with DoD Directive 5500-7R, Joint Ethics Regulation, dated 23 March 2006.- Salary is dependent on experience and/or education.- For positions requiring travel more than twice per year, selectee may be required to obtain and maintain in good standing a Government-issued Travel Card for official government travel purposes.

This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies within 90 days of closing date.

The Department of the Navy (DON) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Applicants are assured of equal consideration regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information, reprisal, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor. This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Applicants with disabilities who believe they may require reasonable accommodations should email their request to [email protected] to ensure proper consideration is given. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

This activity is a Drug-Free workplace. The use of illegal drugs by NAF employees, whether on or off duty, cannot and will not be tolerated. Federal employees have a right to a safe and secure workplace, and Sailors, their family members, and all other customers have a right to a reliable and productive Federal workforce.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits .

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your experience is subject to evaluation and verification against the information in your resume. The numeric rating you receive is a self-assessment only and is based on your responses to the questionnaire. Do not overstate or understate your level of experience and capability. If a determination is made that you rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, or if your resume lacks sufficient information, you will be rated accordingly or may be considered ineligible.

All resumes will be reviewed to determine if they meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement, and will be rated based on the information provided in the resume to determine the level of knowledge, skill, and ability, related to the job requirements. Using the qualifications of the position, a predetermined rating criterion of knowledge, skills, and abilities will be used for each resume. Best qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews.

As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

The following documents may or may not be required. Required documents will show a red asterisk during documentation upload. -Resume -Include name and contact information for at least three (3) professional references in your resume -Proof of education (transcripts/copy of degree/high school diploma), if applicable to position requirements. -Proof of certification, if applicable to position requirements. -If you are a current federal employee, submit your most recent Personnel Action Report (PAR) or SF-50. -If you are a current federal employee, submit your last three evaluations. APPLICANTS CLAIMING HIRING PREFERENCE: Please ensure your status is indicated in your USAJOBS account and ALL required documents to claim preference are submitted at the time of resume submission. WHAT ARE PREFERENCES? Preferences are advantages in the candidate selection process. Individuals can claim the following preferences: 1. Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Qualifying separated employees shall have priority placement in the NAF activity from which they were separated as a result of a Business Based Action (BBA), when the position has substantially the same duties as the position from which they were separated and it is not a higher grade or employment category, provided the position is not being filled by an internal candidate. To claim this preference, you MUST: -Submit a copy of your BBA Separation Notification indicating eligibility for RPL. 2. Military Spouse Preference (MSP): Qualifying spouses eligible for MSP are spouses of an active duty military member of the U.S. Armed Forces, including members of the National Guard or Reserves on active duty. The marriage must have occurred before the military member received official permanent change of station (PCS) orders to the installation listed above. MSP is applicable only when applying for NAF positions at the NF-03 and below and equivalent craft and trade (CT) positions. To claim this preference, you MUST: -Submit sponsor's PCS orders to installation you are applying for; AND -If you are not indicated as a spouse on the PCS orders, you MUST submit proof of marriage prior to PCS. 3. Veteran's Preference/Gold Star Veteran's Preference: Qualifying military veterans, and spouses/parents of deceased veterans shall be given employment preference over non-preference applicants if they are equally qualified. Preference applicable for positions open to external candidates. To claim Veteran's preference, you MUST: -Submit a copy of your DD-214 (member 4 copy); AND -Submit completed SF15 from the Veterans Administration (VA); AND -Submit any other supporting documentation (disability, official statements, proof of service, etc) To claim Gold Star Veteran's preference, you MUST: -Submit completed SF-15 from the Veterans Administration (VA); AND -Submit a legible copy of DD-1300; AND -Submit any other supporting documentation (official statements, document of service, court decree, etc). ***Qualifying applicants with preferences are considered in the order listed above. Then all other qualifying applicants are considered.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

To begin the process, click on the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USA JOBS account.

Application process is submitted through your USA JOBS account. Resumes/ Applications received other than by USA JOBS will be destroyed and will not be considered.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify all the information in their resume and documents; HR will not modify documents submitted by an applicant. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in the resume.

Qualifications must be clearly verifiable in your resume. Government positions must include pay plan, series, grade, to and from dates, and government agency/department.

Where a first cut-off date is indicated, a selection may be made from the resumes/applications received as of the specified first cut-off date. Completed applications (resume, supporting documentation, etc.) must be received by 11:59pm Eastern Time on the cut-off/closing date. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received will be reviewed.

Please see the "REQUIRED DOCUMENTS" section and review the applicant checklist link to determine if there are other documents you are required to submit. You must submit all required documentation or you will not be considered for the position. Failure to submit all the required documentation may result in not be considered for the position. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 06/04/2024 to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12424050 It is your responsibility to ensure your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Applicant To verify or check the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account . Once logged in, the Welcome screen lists your applications, your application status and the date it was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status

Agency contact information

Amanda urmanic.

[email protected]

All applicants will be notified regarding their status by email. Applicants will either be contacted by email for an interview or sent an email of non-selection 3-6 weeks after the announcement closing date. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that communication is performed via email if you do not read your email, provide an inaccurate email address and/ or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
• Criminal history inquiries
• Reasonable accommodation policy
• Financial suitability
• Selective Service
• New employee probationary period
• Signature and false statements
• Privacy Act
• Social security number request

Required Documents

How to apply, fair & transparent.

This job originated on www.usajobs.gov . For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/792369900 . Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.

Learn more about

Commander, Navy Installations

About Fleet and Family Readiness

We provide world class programs that support Fleet, Fighter and Family Readiness and improve quality of life.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• Straight Talk
• Value People
• Encourage Innovation
• Good Stewardship
• Mission Integrity

FLEET AND FAMILY READINESS

Commander, Navy Region Southeast Fleet and Family Readiness is responsible for policy development, resourcing, and oversight of quality of life programs for Navy Sailors and their families. FFR enables a ready Navy force by providing the following programs and support office functions:

• Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)
• Child and Youth Programs (CYP)
• Fleet and Family Support Program
• Family and Unaccompanied Housing
• Galley Programs

The integration of programs within FFR is designed to optimize individual programs and their joint operations. The organization of these programs by functional specialty enables staff at all levels of the organization to be selected for their expertise in specific functional areas and enables programs to focus solely on the best delivery of services. Our business processes are continuously monitored for operational effectiveness to ensure our customers receive the highest quality of service.

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Commander, Navy Installations, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.navymwr.org/

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in eight minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.

Watch CBS News

Sean "Diddy" Combs accused of sexually abusing and drugging NYC college student in 1990s, lawsuit says

Updated on: May 24, 2024 / 2:29 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A woman who says Sean "Diddy" Combs subjected her to violence and abuse over several years in the 1990s filed a lawsuit in New York accusing the rapper of sexual assault, battery and gender-motivated violence.

April Lampros, who met Combs in 1994 when she was a college student, described several "terrifying sexual encounters" with him including being forced to take ecstasy and have sex with Combs' late former girlfriend Kim Porter .

"I'm confident that justice will prevail and the veil will be removed so no other woman will have to endure what I did," Lampros said in a statement provided by her attorney to CBS News.  

Lampros' lawsuit, filed Thursday in state court in Manhattan, comes after a series of allegations against the embattled hip-hop mogul. A former model accused Combs of sexually assaulting her at his New York City recording studio in 2003 in a separate lawsuit filed earlier this week.

Lampros, 51, said in the lawsuit that she was a student at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology when she met Combs, who showered her with gifts and promised to help her achieve her dream of a career in fashion.

The relationship turned abusive and coercive, according to the lawsuit.

Lampros said Combs raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in 1995. She passed out and woke up the next morning "nude, sore, and confused," according to the suit.

On another occasion, Lampros said, Combs forced her to perform oral sex on him in a parking garage.

"She could see the parking garage attendant witnessing this horrifying assault," the lawsuit alleges.

Combs also allegedly forced Lampros and Porter to have sex with each other in his apartment in 1996 after he had shoved ecstasy pills down their throats, according to the lawsuit.

"Ms. Lampros vocally opposed this idea, but Mr. Combs quickly reminded her that she had no control over the situation as he could make her lose her job," the lawsuit said.

Porter died of pneumonia in 2018.

According to the lawsuit, Lampros also allegedly "discovered that Mr. Combs recorded and disclosed a tape of him having sex with her."

A message seeking comment on Lampros' accusations was sent to an attorney for Combs.

The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault by name unless they publicly identify themselves, as Lampros has.

The lawsuits filed by Lampros and the former model come days after CNN aired security video that shows Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. Combs on Sunday released a video admitting he attacked Cassie in the hotel hallway, saying he was "truly sorry" and his actions were "inexcusable."

On Thursday, Cassie  shared a statement on social media , thanking her supporters for their "outpouring of love."

"Domestic violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become," she said. "With a lot of hard work, I am better today but I will always be recovering from my past."

A lawsuit filed by Cassie in November alleging beatings and abuse was settled a day after it was filed. It prompted increased scrutiny of Combs, with additional lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led to raids of Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.

• Sexual Abuse
• Sean "Diddy" Combs

More from CBS News

Lawsuit claiming wrongful imprisonment of elephants heading to supreme court

Robin Niceta sentenced to 4 years in prison

Commerce City woman warns community after becoming victim of check fraud

RTD Light Rail construction will disrupt service for rest of summer

Model sues Diddy, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her

A woman who says she felt "a moral obligation to speak up" after a series of abuse allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs has sued the hip-hop mogul, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her more than 20 years ago.

Crystal McKinney alleged in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in New York City that she was attacked at the rapper's New York City studio in 2003.

Combs is the subject of a  string of lawsuits  from others who have accused him of sexual and physical abuse,  gang rape  and  “serious illegal activity.”  McKinney filed her suit days after a video was made public of Combs beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a 2016 attack she detailed in a lawsuit that has since been settled.

Representatives for Combs, 54, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. 

Combs uploaded an apology to social media over the weekend, calling his behavior in the video “inexcusable” and saying he was going through a difficult time in his life when the attack happened. He said he sought therapy and entered rehab shortly afterward and was working to “be a better man.” 

He has previously denied all allegations of abuse and wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name.

McKinney, who was a 22-year-old model at the time of the alleged assault, met Combs at a Men’s Fashion Week event at Cipriani Downtown in Manhattan, and Combs said she “was going to make it big one day” as a model and promised he’d help her career, she said in the suit.

Combs invited her to his studio, where one of his associates offered her a joint of marijuana and said “you’ve never had weed like this before,” the lawsuit says.

“Plaintiff later came to understand that Combs had laced the joint with a narcotic or other intoxicating substance,” it alleges.

Combs pressured McKinney to smoke more and drink alcohol, though she was severely intoxicated, the suit claims.

“Seeing Plaintiff was very intoxicated, Combs demanded Plaintiff follow him and he physically led Plaintiff to the bathroom,” the lawsuit says. Combs then forced her to perform a sex act, she alleges in the suit.

Attorneys for McKinney declined to comment Tuesday.

McKinney said in her lawsuit that she was dazed after the alleged sexual assault in the bathroom and that she passed out in Combs' studio. She woke up in a taxi and realized she'd been sexually assaulted, she alleges in the suit, which also said she saved the clothes she was wearing that night in a plastic bag.

McKinney said in the lawsuit that after the alleged sexual assault, her modeling opportunities dried up and that she believes Combs "blackballed" her.

McKinney "became severely depressed as she began to blame herself for the assault and for sabotaging her own career," the lawsuit says. She even feared retaliation from Combs, according to the suit.

The suit seeks unspecified damages for pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages.

The suit names Combs, as well as Bad Boy Records and Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean John Clothing and Universal Music Group.

Universal Music Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not related to NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.

McKinney’s is the seventh lawsuit filed in recent months against Combs, known for his music career and for founding Bad Boy Records, as well as TV shows like “Making the Band” and movie appearances.

Ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura sued Combs in November , alleging rape and abuse during their relationship, including being punched, stomped and kicked. A settlement was reached the next day.

The other lawsuits are pending.

Combs is a  subject of a federal criminal investigation , and agents searched his properties this spring.

A source familiar with the investigation said in March that   federal officials had interviewed three women and a man in Manhattan in relation to allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and soliciting and distributing illegal narcotics and firearms.

Federal agents searched Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami. Three sources familiar with the matter said firearms were found at his residences, but no additional details were provided.

Aaron Dyer, one of Combs’ attorneys, said in a statement after the searches that Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.” He described the searches as an ambush, saying there has been a rush to judgment based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” Dyer said. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Diana Dasrath is entertainment producer and senior reporter for NBC News covering all platforms.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

New York Senate passes bill to tighten legal standard Harvey Weinstein used to toss rape conviction

FILE - Harvey Weinstein appears at Manhattan criminal court for a preliminary hearing on May 1, 2024, in New York. The New York state Senate has passed a bill to explicitly allow evidence of prior sexual offenses in sex crimes cases, a move to change the legal standard Harvey Weinstein used to overturn his rape conviction. The Senate on Wednesday , May 22, 2024, approved the proposal, sending the bill to the state Assembly. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File)

• Copy Link copied

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to explicitly allow evidence of prior sexual offenses in sex crimes cases, a move to change the legal standard Harvey Weinstein used to overturn his rape conviction.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 55-4. The proposal now moves to the state Assembly.

Lawmakers began pushing the measure weeks after the state’s high court tossed Weinstein’s conviction in a ruling that found a trial judge unfairly allowed women to testify about assault allegations that weren’t part of the criminal charges against Weinstein.

The state does allow such evidence in limited instances, such as to prove a motive or plan, but the rules are determined by existing legal precedent, rather than state law.

The bill would make clear that evidence of previous sexual offenses can be heard in sex crimes cases, even if those prior allegations are not directly part of the underlying criminal charges. The proposal would also give judges discretion to not allow such testimony if it would create “undue prejudice” against a defendant.

Sponsors of the bill said its language is similar to a standard used by the federal government and more than a dozen other states.

The Legal Aid Society, which provides free legal representation, has warned that the proposal would confuse jurors by allowing too much outside evidence at trials and would result in unfair convictions.

Weinstein has denied the charges against him in New York, which include allegedly raping an aspiring actor and sexually assaulting a production assistant. His 2020 conviction was a major moment in the #MeToo movement . The Manhattan district attorney’s office is seeking to retry him as soon as September.

The disgraced movie mogul has separately been convicted of rape in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison there. He remains jailed in New York .

State commission terminates disciplinary investigation of Ashland police chief

A state police oversight panel voted this week to terminate its investigation into the conduct of Ashland Police Chief Cara Rossi, who was accused of failing to adequately respond to a dispatcher’s complaint of sexual assault by an officer when Rossi was a lieutenant in Natick in 2020.

Rossi, who was reinstated as the Ashland department’s chief in April after being on administrative leave, will face no disciplinary sanctions.

“The Commission concludes there is not clear and convincing evidence that [Rossi] engaged in a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that may escalate,” said the final decision, issued Wednesday by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission . “The Commission also does not find substantial evidence that [Rossi] ‘would benefit in [her] job performance if retrained.’”

Advertisement

In a statement posted Thursday on social media, Rossi’s lawyer, Leah Barrault, said Rossi is “grateful” to the commission for its “thorough and fair review of this matter.”

“She shall now move forward and continue to work to be the best Police Chief that she can be for the citizens of Ashland and for the police department that she oversees,” the post said.

The decision, which was issued by hearing officer Judith A. Cowin, said that Rossi had already been “sufficiently sanctioned” for her errors in handling the 2020 sexual assault incident. Rossi was given a five-day suspension, which was shortened to two days because of her otherwise clean record since starting as a patrol officer in Natick in 1994. She also attended two days of training.

“Nothing more could be achieved by additional sanctions,” the commission’s decision says.

In a March POST Commission hearing, Rossi expressed remorse for her failure to immediately file a written report on the assault complaint.

“I had an obligation to do more. I know that; I wish I had,” Rossi said at the hearing.

In addition to Rossi’s failure to sufficiently investigate the assault, a prosecuting attorney also accused Rossi of engaging in an ongoing pattern of “unprofessional conduct,” pointing to a confrontation she had with a former colleague at the Natick Police Department in June 2023.

The report said the 30-minute encounter, which was with Rossi’s former colleague and friend Allan Graham, a current Natick lieutenant, “rapidly turned unpleasant,” with Rossi walking away in tears.

Graham later reported the incident to the POST Commission, alleging he felt intimidated and verbally harassed by Rossi. But the Commission deemed his complaint an attempt to protect himself in case Rossi were to report him in turn.

“The altercation with Graham at the Natick Police station on June 2, 2023, was inappropriate and unprofessional,” the commission’s decision says. “Rossi should have restrained herself from any unpleasant or hostile conversation with Graham. However, this behavior does not constitute misconduct. Even if it did rise to the level of misconduct, it does not establish a pattern of unprofessional misconduct that may escalate if discipline is not imposed.”

In her testimony before the POST Commission, Rossi admitted that she mishandled the 2020 sexual assault incident, and said she “sufficiently learned” from the suspension and training.

James Quilty, the perpetrator, has since pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery, court records show. He is decertified and resigned from the Natick Police Department, according to a list from POST that was updated Feb. 29. Decertified officers are entered into the National Decertification Index, which means they cannot work as a police officer anywhere in the country, according to POST.

Madeline Khaw can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her @maddiekhaw .