SDSU Counseling & Psychological Services

Getting Help with:

Sexual Assault and Rape

Suicide

Self Help Information

Other Resources

Sexual Assault & Rape

Emergency Services and other Resources
What to do if you are raped
Legal definitions
Statistics
Facts & Common Myths
Prevention: Taking precautions
How to help a friend who has been raped
Suggested readings

Statement on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Stalking
(from the SDSU Office of Diversity and Equity)

Emergency Services and Other Resources

EMERGENCY: Police, Fire & Medical: 9-1-1

Campus:
SDSU Escort Service: 594-6659
SDSU Public Safety Office: 594-1991
SDSU Student Health Services: 594-4736
After Hours Nurse Line: 594-5281
SDSU Counseling & Psychological Services: 594-5220
SDSU Women's Resource Center: 594-7146

Community:
Center for Community Solutions: 24 hour Hotline: (888) 385-4657
Coastal: (858) 272-5777
East County: (619) 697-7477

Women's Resource Center (North County): (760) 757-3500
Women's Legal Center of San Diego: (619) 699-5700
San Diego Police Department: (619) 531-2000
The San Diego LGBT Center: (619) 692-2077

What to do if you are raped

Get to a safe place.
Call a friend or family member to be with you.
Call the police immediately. The sooner you make a report, the greater the chances the assailant will be apprehended.
Do not shower, bathe, douche, or destroy any of the clothing you were wearing at the time of the assault. Do not disturb anything in the area where the assault occurred. It is important to preserve all physical evidence.
Go to a hospital emergency department for medical care. Even if you do not think you have any physical injuries, you should still be examined.
Write down as much as you can remember about the circumstances of the assault and the identity of the assailant.
Seek counseling, information, and legal assistance – call a rape crisis hotline for support and information.

Legal Definitions

Rape

Under California law, rape is sexual intercourse against the will of the victim that can occur under a variety of circumstances, including:

Where the victim is prevented from resisting due to alcohol or drugs.
Where the assailant uses physical force or the threat of force to overpower and control the victim.
Where the victim fears that she or he or another will be injured if the victim does not submit.
Where the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known to the assailant.
Where the victim is incapable of giving legal consent due to a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the assailant.
Where the act is accomplished by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another person.
Where the assailant uses duress, such as a direct or implied threat of hardship or retribution, to coerce the victim.
Where the assailant uses force, fear, or threats to accomplish sexual intercourse against the will of the spouse. This provision of the law is known as the "spousal rape law."

The complete California rape law is contained in Section 261 of the Penal Code. The spousal rape law is set forth in Section 262.

Sexual assault

Besides rape, other sexual assault crimes include the following:

Sodomy (forced anal intercourse)
Oral copulation (forced oral-genital contact)
Rape by a foreign object (forced penetration by a foreign object, including a finger)
Sexual battery (the unwanted touching of an intimate part of another person for the purpose of sexual arousal).

Statistics

Sexual assault represents the most rapidly growing violent crime in America.
More than 80 percent of the rapes that occur on college campuses are committed by someone the victim knows. (Koss and Wisniewski, 1987).
1 in 4 women will be sexually assaulted during their college careers. (Koss and Wisniewski, 1987).
Women between the ages of 16-24 years have the highest victimization rates in the country. (Bureau of Justice, 1990).
It is estimated that fewer than 50% of rapes are reported.
Male victims represent 5%-10% of reported sexual assaults.

Myths and Facts about Sexual Assault (Tempe, Az, Crime Prevention Unit)

MYTH: If you do not struggle or use physical force to resist you have not been sexually assaulted.
If you are forced to have sex without your consent, you have been assaulted whether or not a struggle was involved.

MYTH: You cannot be assaulted against your will.
Assailants overpower their victim with the threat of violence or with actual violence. In cases of acquaintance rape or incest, an assailant often uses the victim's trust in assailant to isolate the victim.

MYTH: A person who has really been assaulted will be hysterical.
Survivors exhibit a spectrum of emotional responses to the assault: calm, hysteria, laughter, guilt, anger, apathy, shock. Each survivor copes with the trauma of the assault in a different way.

MYTH: Assailants are usually crazed psychopaths who do not know their victims.
As many as 80% of all assaults involve either a known acquaintance, or someone the victim has had contact with, but does not know personally.

MYTH: Many women claim they have been sexually assaulted because they want revenge upon the man they accuse.
Only 4-6% of sexual assault cases are found to be based on false accusations. This percentage of unsubstantiated cases is the same as with many other reported crimes.

MYTH: Persons who dress or act in a sexy way are asking to be sexually assaulted.
Many convicted sexual assault assailants are unable to remember what their victims looked like or were wearing.

MYTH: It is impossible to sexually assault a man.
Men fall victim for the same reasons as women: they are overwhelmed by threats or acts of physical and emotional violence. Also, most sexual assaults that involve a male victim are gang assaults, by other males.

More information about date/acquaintance rape is available from Counseling & Psychological Services (594-5220).

Prevention

Taking precautions

Trust your instincts. If you feel something is wrong, it probably is.
Be aware that the use of alcohol and/or other drugs may interfere with your ability to think clearly, communicate effectively, and react appropriately.
Pay attention to your surroundings and anticipate potentially dangerous situations (e.g. while driving, at an ATM, biking, or jogging).
Don't prop outside doors open; and always lock your room door.
Watch out for others' safety and take good care of each other.
Avoid isolated places, day and night. If you must work alone, lock the doors; tell a friend, colleague, or University Police (ext. 41991) where you are.
Take Rape Aggression Defense classes.
Use the Escort Service (phone ext. 46659 from any campus phone or 594-6659 from any public pay phone).
Organize your classes, labs, etc., so no one walks alone.
If strangers call for their friends, ask them to wait outside while you get their friends – do not invite them in.
If someone wants to use your phone, make the call for them while they wait outside.
Get together with a first-time date at a public place.
Never hitchhike.

Rape affects both men and women. When rape occurs, it disrupts all dating norms for men and women and seriously affects the lives of all involved.
In 5-10 percent of reported rapes, the survivors are men. (FBI, 1989).

Given that in 90% of reported cases, the survivors are women...

What can men do to stop rape?

Always assume that "No" means NO! If you are right, you have not offended or exploited your partner in any way. If your assumption was wrong, it is now her responsibility to open up the communication and reinstate the encounter.
Examine your behavior on dates to be sure you are not doing things that could be construed as sexual exploitation of a woman.
Don't feel that you, the male, must always initiate a sexual encounter, and don't initiate if you don't want to.
Communicate honestly, assertively, and respectfully by expressing your needs and listening to other people's needs.
Be aware of stereotypes that set you into acting in forceful or coercive ways, such as "aggressive behavior is masculine." Don't get trapped into these roles.
If a friend boasts of exploiting a woman sexually, condemn such actions. Peer pressure can be used positively to help stop abusive behavior which may set the stage for acquaintance rape.
Confront potential rape scenes. When you see a man verbally hassling a woman on the street, stand by to see if she needs help. If a man is hitting or holding a woman against her will, act immediately. If you feel confident enough, offer direct aid by speaking out, by yelling, or by physical intervention. AT LEAST CALL THE POLICE.
Be conscious when walking in groups of men approaching a woman. Remember how afraid she probably feels and give her space on the street.

How to help a friend who has been raped

Everyone has his or her own unique responses to being assaulted. However, it may be helpful for you to realize that it is common for survivors to feel confused, ashamed, guilty, dirty, frightened, helpless, damaged, distrustful, etc. Remember, whatever a survivor feels is understandable, given her or his experience.

Offer shelter.
See that the victim has a safe place to stay and does not have to be alone until ready.

Be supportive.
Offer emotional comfort and support. Encourage expression of feelings. Don't ask for details but be willing to listen if the victim wants to talk. If you are not comfortable listening empathetically, help the victim find someone who can.

Encourage action.
Gently encourage getting medical attention, seeking counseling, and making a report, even if the assault occurred some time ago.

Be reassuring.
Rape is never the victim's fault. Some things you can say to someone who has been sexually assaulted:
"I believe you."
"You survived; you did the best you could under the circumstances."
"It is not your fault. Nothing you did could possibly justify what happened."
"I'm sorry it happened to you."
"This does not change how I feel about you."
"What can I do to help you?"

Refer your friend for professional assistance; and get support for yourself!

Counseling & Psychological Services