Sexual assault is an act in which a person intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which includes rape, groping, child sexual abuse or the torture of the person in a sexual manner.
A rape kit—also known as a sexual assault kit (SAK), a sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kit, a sexual assault evidence collection kit (SAECK), a sexual offense evidence collection (SOEC) kit, or a physical evidence recovery kit (PERK)—is a package of items used by medical personnel for gathering and preserving physical evidence following an allegation of sexual assault. The evidence collected from the victim can aid the criminal rape investigation and the prosecution of a suspected assailant. DNA evidence can have tremendous utility for sexual assault investigations and prosecution by identifying offenders, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused.
The United States Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created following the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. The Act was renewed in 2005 and again in 2013. The Violence Against Women Act legislation requires the Office on Violence Against Women to work to respond to and reduce violence against women in many different areas, including on college campuses and in people's homes. VAWA requires Office on Violence Against Women to administer justice and strengthen services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Founded in 1980, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) is a membership association of rape crisis centers and sexual assault prevention programs in the State of California, in the United States of America. CALCASA is the only statewide organization in California whose sole purpose is to promote public policy, advocacy, training and technical assistance on the issue of sexual assault. CALCASA’s primary members are the rape crisis centers and rape prevention programs in the state. CALCASA also has affiliate members which include organizations, businesses, individuals and others committed to their mission and their vision of the elimination of sexual violence.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1990, based in the District of Columbia. It is a network of state domestic violence coalitions, representing over 2,000 member organizations nationwide. National Network to End Domestic Violence works to address the many aspects of domestic violence.
Victimisation is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Specialized domestic violence courts are designed to improve victim safety and enhance defendant accountability. They emerged as a problem-solving court in the 1980s and 1990s in response to frustration among victim advocates, judges and attorneys who saw the same litigants cycling through the justice system again and again.
Rape in the United States is defined by the Department of Justice as "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." While definitions and terminology of rape vary by jurisdiction in the United States, the FBI revised its definition to eliminate a requirement that the crime involve an element of force.
The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to victims of rape and sexual assault in Massachusetts and Oregon. Established in 2003, it became the first nonprofit law center in the United States solely dedicated to serving the legal needs of sexual assault victims. The VRLC mission is to "provide legal representation to victims of rape and sexual assault to help rebuild their lives and to promote a national movement committed to seeking justice for every rape and sexual assault victim." VRLC also seeks to transform the legal response to sexual assault in the United States.
Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more frequently female, but any gender can be victimized. Estimates of sexual assault, which vary based on definitions and methodology, generally find that somewhere between 19–27% of college women and 6–8% of college men are sexually assaulted during their time in college.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. It is observed in April.
A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) is a qualification for forensic nurses who have received special training to conduct sexual assault evidentiary exams for rape victims. SANE nurses are specially trained in the medical, psychological, and forensic examination of a sexual assault victim. There are two different credentials available under the SANE designation: SANE-A for adult and adolescent examiners, and SANE-P, which is specifically for pediatric victims. Not all, but many SANE programs are coordinated by rape crisis centers in place of a hospital. Some programs are employed by law enforcement and conduct their exams at stand alone sites, not in an emergency department (ED). SANEs are on call 24-hours a day and may arrive at the hospital ED within an hour of a sexual assault victim’s arrival. Some programs will wait until the patient has had a medical screening exam (MSE) and subsequently have law enforcement bring a stable patient to the sexual assault response team (SART) site for their exam. If the patient is in critical condition and admitted to the hospital, the SANE can perform a 'mobile exam' and bring their exam supplies and camera to the hospital. In addition to the collection of forensic evidence, they also provide access to crisis intervention counseling, STI testing, drug testing if drug-facilitated rape is suspected, and emergency contraception. A SANE will also supply medical referrals for additional medical care or possible follow ups to document how they are healing.
Annie Elizabeth Clark is a women's rights and civil rights activist in the United States. She was one of the lead complainants of the 2013 Title IX and Clery Act charges lodged against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, claiming that the institution violated the law by the way they handled sexual assault complaints. Clark and Andrea Pino, then a fellow UNC student and also a victim of sexual assault, launched a nationwide campaign to use Title IX complaints to force U.S. universities to address sexual assault and related problems more aggressively. Clark is executive director and co-founder with Pino of End Rape on Campus, an advocacy group for victims of campus sexual assault.
The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault was formed on January 22, 2014, after President Barack Obama directed the Office of the Vice President of the United States and the White House Council on Women and Girls to "strengthen and address compliance issues and provide institutions with additional tools to respond to and address rape and sexual assault". The Task Force is part of a wider federal move to bring awareness to sexual violence on American campuses, which also included the Office for Civil Rights release of a list of American higher education institutions with open Title IX sexual violence investigations and the It's On Us public awareness campaign. The co-chairs of the Task Force are Vice President Joe Biden and Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett.
The Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA) was a bill introduced in the 114th United States Congress with the goal of reducing sexual violence on college and university campuses. First introduced in 2014, a revised bill was introduced in February 2015 by Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri with nine bi-partisan cosponsors. 43 co-sponsors eventually signed on. The bill died in committee at the end of the session without reaching a floor vote in either house.
The Safe Campus Act was introduced to the US House of Representatives by Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Kay Granger (R-TX) on July 29, 2015. The bill aims to prevent colleges from pursuing internal investigations in cases of campus sexual assault. This restriction would legally require alleged victims of sexual assault to report the crime to the police in order to see justice on campus.
The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information, resources and advocacy for victims of all types of crime, as well as the people who serve them. The staff oversees a variety of programs including, but not limited to: the DNA Resource Center, the Stalking Resource Center, the Financial Crime Resource Center, the National Compassion Fund, Victim Connect and the D.C. Victim Hotline. The National Center for Victims of Crime hosts the annual National Training Institute, designed to share current research and effective policies with service providers, in order to advance the quality of services available to victims of crime.
After a sexual assault or rape, victims are often subjected to scrutiny and, in some cases, mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. If there is a criminal trial, victims suffer a loss of privacy and their credibility may be challenged. Victims may also become the target of slut-shaming, abuse, social stigmatization, sexual slurs and cyberbullying.
Violence against women in the United States is the use of domestic abuse, murder, sex-trafficking, rape and assault against women in the United States. It has been recognized as a public health concern. Culture in the United States has led towards the trivialization of violence towards women, with media in the United States possibly contributing to making women-directed violence appear unimportant to the public.
