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Sexual Violence: An Overview

What Is Sexual Violence?
If You Have Been Sexually Assaulted
Supporting a Survivor
How to Report an Incident
Resources
Changing Your Housing Situation
Taking Time Off from Classes or Academic Work
Preventing Sexual Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, and Stalking

What Is Sexual Violence?

Massachusetts law defines rape as penetration of a bodily orifice (vagina, anus, mouth) by a penis, other body part, or object against a person’s will or without his or her consent. A person cannot give consent if he or she is:

  • Under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs
  • Under the age of 16
  • Otherwise mentally impaired

Sexual assault includes any unwanted sexual contact, including:

  • Physical contact with an intimate body part of another person without that person’s consent
  • Lewd acts not involving physical contact (e.g., flashing)

Perpetrators of sexual assault may use force, physical or non-physical threats, coercion, and intimidation to assault another person. No matter what the circumstances are, sexual assault is never the fault of the survivor.

Facts about Sexual Violence

  • One in four women and one in six men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes (National Institute of Justice, 2000).
  • Most rapes and sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the survivor. On college campuses, 90 percent of survivors know the person who assaulted them, and 90 percent of assaults occur in a residence (National Institute of Justice, 2002).
  • Every 2.5 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2004).

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If You Have Been Sexually Assaulted

It is not your fault. No matter what the circumstances surrounding the assault might be, you are not to blame.

Your safety is very important. Try to find a safe place away from the person who assaulted you. Call someone you trust—a friend, a roommate, or a relative.

You are encouraged to seek medical care anytime after an assault; however, physical evidence cannot be collected after five days have passed.

If the assault occurred within the past five days

You do not have to report the assault or press charges to get medical care. However, evidence can only be collected during the first five days following the assault. Even if you are not sure about pressing charges, evidence can be collected and stored for up to six months.

Medical Care

MIT Medical can provide medical care following an assault but is not equipped to provide evidence collection kits. If you wish to have an evidence collection done, you can go to a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) hospital site to have evidence collected. MIT Medical usually refers patients to the SANE site at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, but there are others in the area if you prefer. Campus Police can escort you to the SANE site, or MIT Medical can provide you with cab vouchers, whichever you choose. Click here for a list of SANE sites.

Both MIT Medical and SANE sites will provide access to emergency contraception, STI/HIV prophylaxis, pregnancy testing, and testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Evidence Collection at SANE Hospital Sites

Evidence from a sexual assault may be collected up to five days after the assault has happened. If you seek care at a SANE site, staff at that site will contact a medical advocate from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) to provide support, referrals, and information.

Your clothing and/or bedding may contain evidence. Place them in a paper bag and take it with you when you go to the SANE site. Showering, brushing your teeth, and urinating may destroy evidence. If possible, try to wait until after the evidence collection is performed in the emergency room before doing any of these things.

SANE nurses use evidence collection kits to obtain and preserve evidence from a sexual assault. They collect evidence internally and externally during a physical exam. The exam is tailored to both men and women. You may refuse any part of the exam that makes you feel uncomfortable. Although survivors may choose not to press charges immediately, evidence collected at the time of the assault may be useful in prosecuting a sexual assault in the future. Evidence can be stored for up to six months if you choose to have evidence collected but not press charges immediately.

If a survivor of a sexual assault suspects that he or she has been drugged, a toxicology screen through urine or blood analysis may be done at the hospital. A urine or blood sample for toxicology screening should be taken as soon as possible after an assault. Samples will usually only be taken up to 48 hours after the assault.

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Supporting a Survivor

If someone you care about has experienced sexual violence, you may feel a range of emotions, such as pain, frustration, and guilt. You may not know exactly how to deal with the situation. It is important to remember that you are one of the most important resources for the survivor. Your support will show the survivor that he or she is not alone. In addition, the resources [Link to Resources section] available for survivors are also available for you.

General Guidelines for Helping:

  • Listen. Often, a person in crisis needs someone to hear his or her story.
  • Communicate that you believe in the survivor. One of the most important things you can do is to believe what the survivor is telling you.
  • Let the survivor decide what he or she wants to talk about. Don’t push the survivor to talk about something if he or she is not comfortable doing so. You can be helpful without knowing everything about the assault.
  • Don’t ask accusing questions. The blame for the incident belongs with the perpetrator. Ask helpful questions (“What can I do to help you?”) instead of probing questions (“How did this happen?”).
  • Don’t make decisions for the survivor. Help the survivor get information on his or her options, but let the survivor make the decisions. The experience of rape and sexual assault is one of having power and control taken away, and the process of regaining that sense of power and autonomy involves making decisions, however small, for oneself.
  • Show that you care. Remind the survivor that you care and that this crisis hasn’t changed that fact. You may not feel that you’re doing much, but your presence will mean a lot.

The information in this section was adapted from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) downloadable publication What You Need to Know About Sexual Assault.

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How to Report an Incident

If you have experienced sexual violence, you have several options regarding filing a report or pursuing disciplinary recourse.

Reporting Sexual Violence Anonymously

If you wish to report a sexual assault without identifying yourself, you may fill out an anonymous report form and email it anonymously to Campus Police. When you email the form to cp-anon@mit.edu, the identifier headers of the message will be automatically stripped and the message will be received by the Campus Police Investigations Unit.

Reporting Sexual Violence to Campus Police

Campus Police officers are specially trained to assist victims of sexual assault and are available 24 hours a day. If you choose to report an assault, an officer will take your statement. Campus police will further investigate and attempt to apprehend the assailant if you choose. If you do not want the police to investigate or apprehend the assailant, the process will end at that point.

Taking Action through MIT’s Committee on Discipline

The Committee on Discipline adjudicates cases of alleged misconduct by MIT students. Committee members participate in training regarding the handling of all matters, with special attention paid to handling sexual misconduct disputes. In all cases, the Committee acts with power, including suspension, expulsion, and/or revocation of a degree. Anyone directly aggrieved may file a complaint against an MIT student. Usually those who have a complaint seek guidance from the Office of Student Mediation and Community Standards (SMCS), located in W20-507, regarding the options available to resolve the complaint and the steps to follow in each of them. You may contact SMCS at 617-253-7848 or online at http://web.mit.edu/discipline/.

Pressing Criminal Charges

If you decide to press criminal charges, or if you have questions about the process and what may happen, contact Campus Police, Cambridge Police, or the Sexual Assault Unit of the Boston Police Department. The Victims Rights Law Center is a community resource available to answer survivors’ questions and provide information and legal advocacy.

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Resources

Resources are available for those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has. For assistance navigating through these resources, contact Divya Kumar, MIT violence prevention and response advocate, at 617-253-1307 or VPRadvocate@med.mit.edu. Please note that the advocate service is not a 24-hour service.

24-hour Resources

On Campus

Off Campus

Counseling and Support

On Campus

Off Campus

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Changing Your Housing Situation

If you would like to change your living situation due to an assault or harassment, you may contact Divya Kumar, violence prevention and response advocate, 617-253-1307 or VPRadvocate@med.mit.edu.

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Taking Time Off from Classes or Academic Work

If you feel that you need to take some time off from classes or academic work, Divya Kumar, violence prevention and response advocate, can assist you with the process and any questions you may have. Contact her at 617-253-1307 or VPRadvocate@med.mit.edu.

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Preventing Sexual Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, and Stalking

Men perpetrate the majority of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and stalking incidents. However, only a very small percentage of men are perpetrators. While a sexual assault may involve one perpetrator and one survivor, many people are capable of intervening to prevent the assault from happening.

To learn what men can do to prevent gender violence, download 10 Things Men Can Do to Prevent Gender Violence, compiled by Mentors in Violence Prevention program cofounder Jackson Katz.

For more information on how to prevent violence in your community, contact Divya Kumar, coordinator of the Violence Prevention and Response Program at MIT’s Center for Health Promotion & Wellness.

Divya Kumar: 617-253-1307 or kumar@med.mit.edu

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Center for Health Promotion & Wellness

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