SEXUAL ASSAULT DEFINITION

• Any type of sexual contact to which a person has not consented

• Contact that includes forced vaginal, anal, or oral penetration; or any attempted penetration; or forced or nonconsensual fondling, touching, or groping

• No one has the right to force a sexual act upon another in any circumstances whatsoever!

DECREASING YOUR RISKS AND PROTECTING YOURSELF

In Dating and Social Situations:

• Be aware of your surroundings — who’s out there and what’s going on.

• Know your limits when it comes to using alcohol.

• If you are drinking, even non-alcoholic beverages, don’t leave your glass unattended—date-rape drugs incapacitate.

• Be assertive and verbalize clear sexual limits.

• Tell a friend where you are going and with whom you’ll be.

• Make sure your cell phone is charged.

• Trust your instincts. If you feel uncomfortable with the person/s you are with or in your surroundings, leave.

In All Situations at All Times:

• Don’t prop open self-locking doors.

• Don’t lend or leave your keys. Make sure your name and address aren’t on the key ring.

• Have your key ready to use before you reach the door of your home, car, or work.

• Know who’s at a door before you open it.

• Avoid isolated and secluded areas, like underground garages, offices after business hours, and apartment laundry rooms.

• Avoid walking or jogging alone, especially at night. Stay in well-traveled, well-lit areas.

• Park in well-lit areas and lock the car, even if you’ll only be gone a few minutes.

• Drive on well-traveled streets, with doors and windows locked.

• Never hitchhike or pick up a hitchhiker.

• Keep your car in good shape with plenty of gas in the tank.

• In case of car trouble, call for help on your cell phone, which you should always keep charged.

• If you don’t have a phone, put the hood up, lock the doors, and put a sign in the rear mirror that says, “Help. Call police.”

HELPING YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED

• Go immediately to a hospital or clinic emergency room so you can get appropriate and thorough medical attention and so that evidence against the perpetrator can be collected through a “rape kit” exam.

• Report the crime to the police.

• Contact your local rape crisis center (HOPE Works in Chittenden County Hotline: 802-863-1236 or 1-800-489-7273 ) or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE)

• Confide in a trusted family member or friend and ask that person to accompany you to the emergency room or police station.

HELPING SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED

• Be comforting.

• Don’t preach.

• Assure the victim that he or she is not to be blamed.

• Help that person get to a safe place.

• Offer to go with or take that person to a hospital or the police.

HELPING PREVENT A POTENTIAL ASSAULT ON ANOTHER

• If you see someone who is drunk or otherwise incapacitated or your instincts tell you a person is vulnerable and at risk for a sexual assault, there are several things you can do:

• Without putting your own welfare at risk and if it is safe to do so, you might try to get the at-risk person away from the situation.

• You can call the police.

DOMESTIC ABUSE DEFINITION

• Abusive, violent behavior in a relationship, whether in a domestic situation or a dating situation, that involves an attempt by one partner to control and intimidate the other partner

• Abusive behavior of a physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological nature

HELPING YOURSELF IF YOU ARE A VICTIM

• Call 911.

• Call a domestic abuse hotline.

• Go to a shelter.

• Get to a safe place within your home.

• Have an escape plan.

• Confide in a friend or family member and ask for their help.

HELPING PREVENT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• Be comforting and reach out to and support the person you believe is a victim.

• Call the police yourself if you see or hear evidence of domestic violence.

• Encourage your neighborhood watch or block association to become as concerned with watching out for domestic violence as with burglaries and other crimes.