Sexual Assault and Risk Reduction

If you have been sexually assaulted

Risk reduction and prevention

Sexual assault information and weblinks

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If you have been sexually assaulted

Support and medical care are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Regardless of whether the assault was recent or whether this happened to you in the past, there are people whose care and compassion can help you cope with your feelings, provide medical care and support and answer your questions.

Here are some suggestions for what to do if you have been assaulted:

• Call or talk to to someone you trust and tell them what happened. If you don't want to tell a friend or family member, talk to an RA, GRF, GCA, or someone else you can trust. Gannett's health care providers can be contacted (607.255.5155) to answer questions and provide medical and emotional support. Cornell's victim advocate or clinical counselor  are also good first options to consider. Ithaca's Advocacy Center has a 24 hour hotline (277-5000), and you can speak confidentially to a sexual assault advocate from this community agency.
• Get medical attention. You may benefit from being examined for physical injury and sexually transmissible infections and discussing options for pregnancy and/or HIV prevention. Call Gannett 255-5155 day or night, and a healthcare provider will offer information about your options for care.
  Please do not let concerns about finances be a barrier to seeking the services you need at Gannett. Financial assistance can be available and all services are confidential. (Learn more about fees, confidentiality, and financial assistance.)
• If you might consider legal action against the assailant, you may choose to have physical and medical evidence of the assault recorded. In this case, call or go to the Emergency Room at Cayuga Medical Center (the hospital) (preferably within 72 hours of the incident). Should you decide to press charges, the evidence collected there will significantly increase the possibility of successful prosecution.
• Consider talking with Cornell's Victim Advocate (255-1212). The Victim Advocate can outline options, help you get connected to services and help with academic or other pressures you may be feeling. The Cornell advocate can also provide on-going support and answer many questions you may have. Most importantly, they can help you think through what you need to begin the healing process.

Risk reduction and prevention

For men

For women

It has been estimated that approximately 20-25% of college women have been victims of rape or attempted rape. About 10% of sexual assault victims are men. Most individuals are assaulted by people already known to them; this could be a date, a friend, a student they know, or someone in a position of power or authority, such as a boss or teacher. The dynamics of assault on campus vary as do the needs of victims. Every circumstance is different with one exception: a victim is never to blame for what happens to them. Some circumstances may put individuals at risk, but that still does not reduce the culpability of the assailant.

Both men and women need to learn how to reduce the risk of perpetration of violence and victimization and to work together to make our campus a safe and respectful place to study and work.

There are many individuals and groups at Cornell committed to the prevention of sexual assault on campus. The Cornell Advocates for Rape Education (CARE) took leadership on sexual assault awareness and prevention starting in 1984. Although currently not active, members of CARE continue to work on these issues at the University. 

10 things that men can do to prevent sexual violence 

1. Approach gender violence as a MEN'S issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers.
2. If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner—or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general—don't look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it.  Or if you don't know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counselor. DON'T REMAIN SILENT.
3. Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes. Don't be defensive when something you do or say ends up hurting someone else. Try hard to understand how your own attitudes and actions might inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence, and work toward changing them.
4. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help.
5. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past, seek professional help NOW.
6. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Support the work of campus-based women's centers. Attend "Take Back the Night" rallies and other public events. Raise money for community-based rape crisis centers and battered women's shelters. If you belong to a team or fraternity, or another student group, organize a fundraiser.
7. Recognize and speak out against homophobia and gay-bashing. Discrimination and violence against lesbians and gays also has direct links to sexism (e.g. the sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned, a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them. This is a key reason few men do so).
8. Attend programs, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence.  Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women. Harvard University has developed a good website for men interested in sexual violence prevention. Networking and connecting with other men concerned about this issue is a good first step.
9. Don't fund sexism. Refuse to purchase any magazine, rent any video, subscribe to any Web site, or buy any music that portrays girls or women in a sexually degrading or abusive manner. Protest sexism in the media.
10. Mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don't involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Volunteer to work with gender violence prevention programs, including anti-sexist men's programs. Lead by example. 

Adapted from: Copyright 1999 Jackson Katz

Risk reduction strategies for women

There are no confirmed strategies for preventing sexual assault or rape. However, it has been suggested that some things may make women less vulnerable to an assault. Most important is being aware that as a woman you may be considered vulnerable and a target. This is especially true if you choose to drink alcohol in a public setting. Alcohol reduces our ability to think clearly or recognize dangerous circumstances. There is research that reports that men perceive that women who drink alcohol are more sexually available, even when they are not.

Some other suggestions to reduce vulnerability include:

• Plan to be out socially with friends. If you don't know someone too well, stick with a group before being alone with an individual in a private setting.
• Trust your instincts. If a situation feels uncomfortable or unsafe, get yourself out of it. Look for friends and leave the situation behind.  Don't worry about embarrassment or making others uncomfortable. Go somewhere you feel comfortable or safe.
• Challenge sexist attitudes and behaviors in people you are with. If you hear disparaging remarks about women, that should clue you in to the individuals who are not respectful of women or of personal boundaries.
• Learn more about the dynamics of sexual assault to heighten your understanding of the issue. Attend programs, sponsor events in your residence hall, get involved on campus with the Cornell Women's Resource Center or the Take Back the Night Collective. Talk to your friends about what they know and share the information you know about sexual assault on campus.

Remember: no one is responsible for any assault perpetrated against them.