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What is Sexual Assault?
Sexual assault is a
crime. It involves sexual contact, such as kissing, touching,
fondling and intercourse, without consent. A person may be charged
with.
- sexual assault,
or
- sexual assault
with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily
harm, or
- aggravated sexual
assault
What is Consent?
Consent means to
voluntarily agree to engage in sexual activity. When threats
or force are used to obtain consent, that consent is not voluntary.
If a person, such as your boss, teacher, doctor or family member,
uses power they have over you to obtain your consent, your consent
is not voluntary.
Consent must be clear.
If you are too afraid to yell or resist or fight back, your consent
cannot be implied. You have the right to decide whether to
have sexual relations with another person.
You can consent to
some sexual activities without consenting to all sexual activities.
For example, you may agree to go on a date and to hold hands or
kiss. You may have agreed to have sexual relations on previous
occasions. Agreeing to any or all of these things does not
mean you consent to other sexual contact. You have the right
to say "NO" to anything, at any time. No one has the
right to force you into unwanted sexual activity, no matter what has
happened before.
"NO"
means "NO" - ALWAYS!
Age of Consent
You cannot legally
consent to sexual activity if you are under the age of 12 years old.
If you are between 12 and 14, an accused person cannot argue that you
consented to the sexual activity unless the accused person is...
- between 12 and 16
years old, and
- less than two
years older than you, and
- not in a position
of trust or authority towards you, or someone you are dependent
upon
Common Reactions
Sexual assault is a
crisis and we all handle crises in different ways. Though each
person and situation in unique, the following list summarizes the
range of reactions to sexual assault that may help you know what's
normal to expect:
- Emotional shock:
I felt so numb. Why am I so calm? Why can't I cry?
- Disbelief:
Did it really happen? Why me? Maybe I just made it
up.
- Shame: I
feel so dirty, like there is something wrong with me. I
want to wash my hands or shower all the time.
- Guilt: I
feel as if it's my fault or I did something to make this happen.
- Depression:
How am I going to get through this semester? I'm so tired.
I feel so helpless. Maybe I'd be better off dead.
- Powerlessness:
Will I ever feel in control again?
- Disorientation:
I don't even know what day it is or what class I'm supposed to
be in. I can't remember appointments. I keep
forgetting.
- Triggers: I
keep having flashbacks. I'm still re-living it. I
see his face all the time.
- Denial: It
wasn't really a "rape".
What can you do?
First and foremost
get to a safe place!
If you are sexually
assaulted you should get help right away. You can contact the
police, a doctor or sexual assault centre. A sexual assault
centre can send someone to give you support and information,
accompany you to the hospital and help you work through the process
of deciding whether to report the incident to the police.
It is important to get
medical attention, even if the assault did not involve sexual
intercourse. If you decide to seek medical attention or to
report the incident to the police, you should not clean yourself,
change or throw away your clothes, comb your hair, or take any drugs
or alcohol. If you do any of these things it may be harder to
gather evidence about the person who attacked you.
Even if you do any of
these things you should still seek medical attention and call the
police. It is a good idea to write everything you remember
down on paper. Your notes may be helpful if you need to give
evidence at a later time.
Ways to Take Care of Yourself
- Get support from
friends and family - try to identify people you trust to
validate your feelings and affirm your strengths.
- Talk about the
assault and express feelings - choose when, where and with whom
to talk about the assault and set limits by only disclosing
information that feels safe for you to reveal.
- Use stress
reduction techniques - hard exercise like jogging, aerobics,
walking; relaxation techniques like yoga, massage, music, hot
baths.
- Maintain a
balanced diet and sleep cycle as much as possible and avoid
overusing stimulants like caffeine, sugar and nicotine.
- Take "time outs".
Give yourself permission to take quiet moments to reflect, relax
and rejuvenate - especially during times you feel stressed
or unsafe.
- Release some of
the hurt and anger in a healthy way: Write a letter to
your attacker about how you feel about what happened to you.
Be as specific as you can. You can choose to send the
letter or not.
- Remember you are
safe, even if you don't feel it. The rape is over.
It may take longer than you think but you will feel better.
The Police can Help
The police can try to
help in a number of ways. They can take you to get medical
attention, gather evidence and interview possible witnesses.
The police will ask
you detailed questions and prepare a statement for you to review and
sign. The police will use your statement and other evidence to
try to find the person responsible for the assault. If the
police are able to locate a suspect, they may ask you to help to
identify the suspect. The suspect may be arrested and charged.
The police can also
refer you to victim services and other available resources.
Will the Suspect be
held in Jail?
Not necessarily.
If the police do in fact charge the person, they may keep the person
in jail until their first appearance in court. A judge will
decide whether to release the accused or hold them over for trial.
The accused may be released on certain conditions. For
example, the judge may require the accused to post bail or report to
the police regularly. The accused is usually ordered not to
contact you in person, by phone or mail. If you are afraid
that he accused may try to harm you or stop you from giving evidence
at the trial, tell the police or the Crown Prosecutor.
What Happens Next?
Not all criminal cases
go on to trial. The accused person may decide to plead guilty
to the charge. If this happens, you will not need to testify
at a trial. You may, however, want to appear at a sentencing
hearing or provide a victim impact statement to explain how the
crime has affected you.
If the accused pleads
not guilty, you may have to give evidence at a trial, or at a
preliminary inquiry and trial. A preliminary inquiry is a
hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to justify
sending the case on to trial. Your testimony is a very
important part of the Crown's case against the accused. It is
important that victims and witnesses get the assistance they need to
enable them to appear and testify in court. The Crown
Prosecutor and victim/witness services can provide you with
information about what to expect and options available to make
testifying easier.
You should talk to the
Crown Prosecutor before the hearing or trial to find out when and
where court will take place, what questions the Crown Prosecutor
will ask, as well as what to expect from the defence lawyer.
If you do not understand what the Crown Prosecutor tells you, ask
them to explain it further or in simpler terms. You have the
right to know about the case and be prepared for the trial.
you can bring someone with you for support.
Will I be asked
about My Sexual History?
Evidence about your
past sexual activities, whether with the accused or any other person,
cannot be used to attempt to show that you consented to the sexual
assault.
Such evidence cannot
be used to suggest that you are not a credible witness or that your
testimony should not be believed. In specific situations,
however, the judge may allow some questions about your past sexual
activities if the judge decides that this information has some
bearing on the case at hand.
Will the Court be
Open to the Public?
Court proceedings are
usually open to the public, but you do have the right to have your
identity protected from being in the news. to do so, tell the
Crown Prosecutor to request that the judge make an order saying your
identity cannot be made public in the media. In very limited
circumstances, the public may be excluded altogether - but this is
unusual. There are special safeguards for victims under the
age of 18, or those who may have difficulty testifying because of a
disability.
Evidence
Date Rape Drugs
Recently, there have
been a number of reports of sexual assault in which drugs or other
substances have been slipped into people's drinks. The number
of sexual assaults in which drugs are used seems to be on the
increase.
Over the decades,
alcohol and substances such as chloral hydrate or "Mickey Finns"
have been misused to involuntarily sedate individual for sexual
assault. In the past several years, there have been reports in
which other substance have been identified, including gamma
hydroxybutrate (GHB), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), triazolam (Halcion,
scopolamine. burundaga and ketamine. Recent laboratory
tests on the urine of survivors of substance-related sexual
assault showed traces of a even greater number of substances,
including alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines,
cocaine, GHB, marijuana and opiates. These drugs may come in
any form, including powder, pill, tablet and liquid.
Sedating drugs, when
criminally misused often are referred to by a number of street
names, of which you should be aware. These include Liquid
Ecstasy, Liquid X, Grievous Bodily Harm, Easy Lay for GHB, and
Special K for ketamine. Common street names of Rohypnol
include Roofies, Roachies, La Rocha and the forget pill.
How Can I Reduce
My Risk
- Do not leave
beverages unattended at parties or bars.
- Do not take
beverages, including alcohol, from someone your do not know well
and trust.
- At a bar or club,
accept drinks only from the bartender or server.
- At parties, do
not accept open-container drinks from anyone.
- Be alert to the
behaviour of friends, and ask them to watch out for you.
Anyone extremely intoxicated after consuming only a small mount
of alcohol may be in danger.
What Should I Do
IF I Think I've Been Drugged and Assaulted?
- If you or a
friend feel dizzy, confused or have other unexplained symptoms
after drinking a beverage, get to a safe place immediately by
calling a family member, friend, the police or 911. If you
think you have been drugged go IMMEDIATELY to the hospital
emergency room.
- If you think you
have been drugged and sexually assaulted, follow step 1 and go
directly to the hospital. Call the crisis line for
information and support.
- Determine whether
or not you want to report the incident to the police. If
there is any chance you do want to report the incident, you
should not shower, bathe, douche, change clothes or straighten
up the area until medical and legal evidence has been collected,
as these actions will destroy evidence.
- If you want to
report the incident, you can call the police before going to the
hospital to have the medical evidence collected or the police
can be contacted from the hospital. Once at the hospital,
request a test as quickly as possible to detect the presence of
sedating substances. Chances of getting proof are best
when the sample is obtained soon after the substance has been
taken. Every hour matters.
- Try to keep a
sample of the beverage for analysis.
What Are the
Physical Effects
There are several
telltale signs that an individual may be under the influence of a
sedating substance. Possible effects include impaired
judgment, loss if inhibition, dizziness and confusion. If an
individual appears extremely intoxicated after drinking a
non-alcoholic beverage, or only a small amount of alcohol, they may
have unknowingly ingested one of a number of substances.
Sedating substances can temporarily affect a person's ability to
remain awake and conscious. Someone who has been sedated may
experience sudden or unexplained drowsiness and have trouble with
motor co-ordination.
What can Family Members &
Friends do?
Remember - After a
sexual assault , the person needs to:
- Obtain medical
assistance
- Feel safe
- Know she or he
was not at fault
- Take control of
her or his life
Things you can do to
help:
- Listen - don't
judge. Try to understand the survivor's feelings.
- Offer shelter.
If possible, stay with the person at a comfortable, reassuring
place.
- Be there and give
comfort. The survivor may need to talk a lot or at odd
hours at the beginning. Be there as much as you can and
encourage the survivor to talk to others.
- Encourage the
person to seek professional help.
- Be patient.
Don't try to rush the healing process or "make it better".
- Accept the
person's choice of what to do about the rape - don't be overly
protective. Ask what is needed, help the survivor list
some options, then encourage independent decision-making, even
if you disagree. It is very important that the survivor
make decisions and have them respected.
- Put aside your
feelings and get support for yourself. It may be too
overwhelming to deal with your angry feelings on top of the
victim's. If you have strong angry feelings or feelings of
blame toward the survivor, talk to a friend or call the
crisis line.
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