Assault victim incident with some learning points

My comments are in red. This article highlights a number of myth busters about sexual assault.

Program advocates for student victims

By Sam Bosserman | Posted: Monday, April 28, 2014 10:25 am

Helen was raped in her home around 5 a.m.
(Many assaults happen in the home in the early morning hours.)

The perpetrator, an acquaintance of her husband’s,( Majority of assaults are by people known to the victim, even if they are just acquaintances) broke in through a broken basement door. At the time of the attack, Helen was recovering from a foot surgery, leaving her unable to flee.

When Helen recalls her memories of the night, she remembers the man, who was allegedly on drugs, telling her of how he had longed for her.

“(He) just started saying ‘it’s time, it’s time’ over and over again as he tried to control me,” she said.

When Helen reported her assault to the police, she was faced with the standard assortment of victim-blaming questions such as “Why didn’t you run?”, “Why didn’t you fight back?” and “Why didn’t you use the word no?” ( Untrained or unwilling to follow procedures officers will do this.  But civilian population will do the same thing.)

She remembers how the police were far from well-trained in handling victims of sexual assault and took several actions that can be described as misguided at best.

“When the police called me to come down to the station, they put me alone in a small interrogation room,” she said. “(At that time) I would just lay in bed for hours, shaking and crying from the PTSD.” (This happens. A well trained police department will handle things differently. ) 

Helen’s case was referred to prosecutors by the police after an investigation in which the perpetrator confessed to detectives he had indeed entered her home without her permission.

Despite the incriminating comments made to the police, Helen’s case never went to trial. Unfortunately, someone had tainted the witnesses by calling and telling them she had said “sorry” to her attacker. ( Unfortunately, many victims look to law enforcement and the courts for justice and are disappointed.) 

Helen said her words had been twisted out of context, and she only said “sorry” during the attack as a way to calm the man down and protect her own life.( This should not have been considered because assault victims are often on record saying and doing anything they need to do to save their lives. This is a "you weren't there" situation. )

After law enforcement and prosecutors backed away from the case, Helen was left with little help to seek justice for the crime committed against her.

Since the attack, Helen started college at West Virginia University and has tapped into the resources provided at the school. One resource that has been exceptionally helpful for her is the civil law clinic at the WVU College of Law.

Aside from being a vast repository of information and an advocate for students, the law clinic helped Helen with matters requiring specific legal expertise.

“The law school helped me write (the law enforcement) a really tough letter,” Helen said. “It was five pages of all the missed information and missed evidence.”

Kelly Behre, a visiting associate professor in the WVU College of Law, oversees the law students working in a specialized workgroup focused on domestic violence and sexual assault within the general civil law clinic.

Behre said the law clinic is just one of many avenues a survivor can take in finding help after an attack, with law enforcement, medical professionals and University staff.

According to Behre, the law clinic may be a good place to start for some students, because the clinic adheres to attorney-client confidentiality.

This means the law students and professors working at the clinic do not have to report the crime to the school, as Resident Assistants in the residence halls and WVU professors would be required to.

Behre said she believes the exemption from the mandatory reports allows some students to feel more comfortable when coming forward to seek help.

Behre said the nonprofit Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center also has counselors who are exempt from mandatory reporting regulations, who are able provide individuals with important information.

Informational centers like these are important, as there are many things about sexual assault laws and regulations a regular student would not know about.

“Under West Virginia law, if you get a rape kit done, you don’t need to necessarily decide whether to press criminal charges (at the time),” Behre said. “They can keep them for up to a year either way. Under federal law right now, victims of sexual assault who report it to the University may have the right to certain interim provisions.”

Behre said provisions can range from having a survivor’s or a perpetrator’s class schedule and housing changed to having someone walk with a survivor around campus in order for them to feel safe until conduct board hearings have finished.

The Law Clinic itself is unique in that certified third-year student attorneys are able to represent student survivors at conduct board hearings. This means students who come to the clinic are no longer being asked to try their own cases, but rather have people with legal training help them get justice.

Sarah Mills, one such law student working at the clinic, said groups like RDVIC are trying to not only help those who have been victimized, but are also attempting to change the culture that contributes to sexual assault.

“The RDVIC has been trying to push the thinking away from ‘no means no’ to ‘yes means yes,’” Mills said. “It shouldn’t be assumed just because you’re out drinking and meet a guy, you’re going to have sex with him. It needs to be only if you in some way give consent.”

The push for a cultural change can also be seen in initiatives such as the Green Dot campaign, which promotes bystander intervention.

In relation to whether or not a survivor should be encouraged to come to the clinic to seek legal help, Stephanie Moore, a law student, said it comes down to each individual case and what’s right for the person’s recovery.

*The last name has been omitted to protect the victim’s identity.

http://www.thedaonline.com/news/article_f7cd4240-cee0-11e3-b6ba-001a4bcf6878.html