Protocol & Proxy Reporting
State University of New York at Buffalo Response to Victims of Campus Sexual Assault Staff Protocol and Proxy Reporting 1999-2000 Academic Year
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Students should know that local prosecutors will counsel them about their involvement in a criminal case (some victims have elected to consult and retain local attorneys to represent their interest in the courts, but it is certainly not necessary to do so). Victims should also know that individuals and groups, on and off-campus, are available to support them throughout this process.
Call Crisis Services. The victim may wish to discuss the incident with Crisis Services, a community response agency, in person or on the telephone. A Rape Advocate Counselor from Crisis Services will meet a victim or go to the hospital for support. Tell the victim Crisis Services will provide a formal assessment of immediate medical and psychological needs. It will also evaluate the victim's needs, provide immediate counseling and support, and can make referrals for longer term care on personal concerns.
Go to the Emergency Room. The victim may wish to go directly for medical help and/or a forensics analysis. Hospital emergency rooms are the only place where evidence necessary for medical and/or forensic evaluation and court testimony can be collected. Victim's should be advised not to shower, bathe, or change clothing prior to going to the Emergency Room as this will destroy important physical evidence.
Arrangements should be made to have someone accompany victim to the hospital (you, friend, staff member, resident advisor, Crisis Services Advocate, etc.).
For physical evidence to be useful, it is best collected as soon as possible. The collection of medical evidence does not presume that charges will be pressed. As part of evidence collection, emergency room protocols involve testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Emergency room personnel can also offer the victim immediate counseling services, as well as local victim advocacy services. University Police generally arranges transportation to Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) or Buffalo General Hospital for these purposes. Each has its own policies and protocols.
Go to Student Health Center. The victim may wish to go directly to Student Health Center (located on the South Campus) for treatment. The Health Center will follow a sexual assault medical treatment protocol including: (1) tests for sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and counseling, (2) in the case of a female victim, a pregnancy test and counseling, and (3) referral for follow-up care and counseling. The victim should know that immediate testing is recommended, but Health Center cannot collect evidence or testimony for prosecution.
Call Counseling Center. All contacts with the Counseling Center are confidential. The staff will provide counseling support or crisis intervention services. Immediate contact with a counseling psychologist can be arranged through University Police.
Call student-sponsored Sexuality Education Center. This organization sponsors a birth control clinic, an AIDS coalition, and SBI Safety Services on campus. In sexual assault cases, it can provide counseling and support services.
Contact Judicial Affairs. If the victim is interested in information about the campus disciplinary process and how it might apply to a case, a meeting with Judicial Affairs can be arranged as soon as the victim wishes. At that meeting, the disciplinary process will be reviewed, explaining what the student's participation in the process would involve, so that an informed decision can be made on whether to file a formal complaint on campus.
Contact Student Affairs/Academic Units. The Dean of Students' Office and academic units are always available to provide personal and administrative support. The offices may be able to assist in making arrangements with academic departments for leaves, extend deadlines for class assignments, postpone exams, change class schedules to separate victim and assailant, and change housing situations. They can also provide information about the University's formal judicial process.
Contact Campus Office of Equal Opportunity/Affirrnative Action. If the assault is related to sexual harassment, this office should be advised.
Contact Family. Victims may wish to speak with their parent(s) or another family member. The University strongly encourages open communication between parents and students.
Contact a Friend. Victims may wish to seek support from a relative, friend, clergy member, residence hall advisor, faculty member, etc.
Contact External Legal Services. Victims may elect to consult with a personal attorney.
Take No Action. Victims may wish to do nothing other than have a conversation with you. A proxy report, however, should be filed in any case.
Consider Assistance for Others. while the victim's care and support is the first priority, roommates or friends may be in need of counseling and support as well. Who are they? Where are they?
Contact State Crime Victim's Board. Compensation for losses and reimbursement for assault-related expenses might be available through this service, if a police report is filed within five days of an attack (charges do not have to be pressed, however, to qualify). This agency can be contacted through University Police.
Required Proxy Report. without compromising the victim's confidentiality, a proxy report can alert the campus to the fact that an assault has occurred and can assist University Police in detecting patterns (and preventing future assaults).
Victims are encouraged to officially report any sexual assault. If for some reason, however, they do not wish to file a full police report, an anonymous proxy report should be prepared. As indicated earlier, if the student chooses not to report the assault, campus personnel, other than those with significant counseling responsibilities (such as licensed professionals or certified counselors), must file a report when informed by a student of a sexual assault, to maintain campus compliance with the Federal Crime Awareness Act. A copy of the Campus Proxy Report Form is attached.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality should be provided to both the victim and the accused to the extent possible and consistent with one's authority to do so.
Victim Assistance
Victims/survivors of sexual assault may experience emotional trauma caused by the loss of trust, control, self-esteem, power and judgment. Common symptoms include shock, fear, anxiety, depression, withdrawal, loss of normal coping mechanisms, insomnia, and headaches. The healing process begins when victims/survivors are able to tell someone about their experience. The initial care and support they receive can help reduce the sense of loss. It is crucial that respondents understand and be sensitive to the emotional aftereffects of sexual assault. Specifically, respondents should be aware that:
- Many victims/survivors of acquaintance rape do not immediately identify their experience as rape. They may feel that something is wrong, i.e., emotional upheaval, depression, but may not connect their feelings with the assault.
- Many victims/survivors feel they are to blame for the assault. This accounts for their feelings of shame and self-doubt.
- Victims/survivors experience different emotions at different times and in different ways. There is no "correct" reaction and no average length of time between assault and disclosure of the experience.
The following guidelines are offered by counseling experts as advice to those who want to help someone recover from the trauma of sexual assault.
Support the victim/survivor
- Accept what you hear. Many acquaintance rape victims/survivors fear that their experience will be minimized as "not important."
- Listen. Allow victims/survivors to disclose as little or as much about the assault as is comfortable for them.
- Comfort them. Be reassuring in a gentle, non-disapproving way. Avoid questions that are judgmental. Don't ask questions that suggest that victims/survivors are responsible for their assailant's conduct, such as "Why didn't you say no?" Avoid "why, what, or where" questions as well.
- Help victims/survivors organize their thoughts, but let them decide how to proceed. Support their decisions. Try to separate how you feel about what has happened from what is best for their own recovery.
- Because a critical part of healing is regaining some sense of control over their lives, victims/survivors must be allowed to direct their own recovery and to have control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Unit Policy
It is important for the University to coordinate institutional responses on behalf of victims. If your unit has a sexual assault protocol or policy, please provide a copy to the Dean of Students' Office. Thank you.
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
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