Sexual Violence Prevention Program
Call 9-1-1 if you are in immediate danger.
If you are sexually assaulted get to a safe place and get help. Call one of the numbers below, tell a trusted friend, a parent or a resident assistant.
For immediate and confidential assistance call one of the numbers below.
To Reach a Confidential, Trained Sexual Violence Advocate call the SERV 24-hour Hotline (Services Empowering the Rights of Victims):
To Reach an On-call Student Life Coordinator:
To Reach Counseling and Psychological Services:
For Additional Confidential Services During Business Hours Call:
Facts About Sexual Violence
The facts noted on this page are from data gathered from research on sexual violence and national crime statistics. Sexual assault is one of the most under reported crimes. It is estimated that less than half of the crimes involving sexual violence go unreported. If the assailant is someone the survivor knows it is even less likely to be reported.
Sexual assault is not a crime of passion. Sexual violence is a crime in which assailants seek to assert their power to dominate their victims.
Victims can be assaulted against their will. Assailants use many strategies to manipulate and overpower victims including isolation, intimidation, coercion, threats of violence or actual violence.
Survivors may or may not be very emotional and can exhibit a range of emotional and physical responses to assault such as: calmness, hysteria, laughter, anger, shock, depression, shame, guilt, anxiety, fear, confusion, denial, embarrassment, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, panic attacks, difficulty concentrating, difficulty trusting others, change in appetite, sleep problems, weight loss or gain, headaches, stomach aches or other aches and pains, increased use of alcohol and/or drugs, and loss of interest in normal activities and interactions.
Sexual violence is not an impulsive act. In nearly all cases assailants plan the violence ahead of time looking for targets who appear to be vulnerable. Assailants repeat the offense many times using the same pattern of behavior for victim identification.
Assailants are not generally strangers. An assailant may be someone the victim knows intimately and trusts.
Dressing “sexy” does not mean that a person is asking to be sexually assaulted. Sexual assault victims range from infants to elderly persons and include victims with special needs.
Women tell the truth when reporting sexual assault.
Survivors who fail to seek medical help may be at risk for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy. Survivors who get medical help after the assault are administered a regimen of drugs\medications to prevent HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy.
Chamberlin, Linda. 2006. Assessment for Lifetime Exposure to Violence as a Pathway to Prevention, National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women. Accessed December 11, 2010. http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=301.
Kaukinen, Catherine, and Alfred DeMaris. 2009. “Sexual Assault and Current Mental Health: The Role of Help-Seeking and Police Responses.” Violence Against Women 15: 1331-1357.
Kilpatrick, Dean G., et. al. 2007. Drug-facilitated, Incapacitated, and Forcible Rape: A National Study, U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, NCJ 219181. 9 Kaukinen, Catherine, and Alfred DeMaris. 2009. “
Rennison, Callie M. 2002. Rape and Sexual Assault: Reporting to Police and Medical Attention, 1992–2000, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ 194530.
Sexual Violence in the United States: Summary of Round Table Proceedings 2010, Center for Violence Against Women, Washington, D.C.
Tjaden, Patricia, and Nancy Thoennes. 2006. Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, NCJ 210346. 2.
Tjaden , Patricia, Nancy Thoennes, (2000), Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey. November 2000 NCJ 183781