If+it+happened+to+you

=If rape happened to you:=

It’s hard to imagine things like rape happening to you or someone you know, but it is more common than you may think.

Although you may think it will never happen to you, it is ALWAYS good to know what to do and what will happen if it does happen to you.

__**If you are sexually assaulted:**__ Changing clothes, bathing, showering or douching. You might be injured both internally and externally. Reporting does not mean that you must prosecute. You can make that decision later.
 * Get to a safe place **immediately!**
 * __Refrain__ from the following:
 * __Call__ the YWCA crisis line or the local police station.
 * __Get__ medical attention immediately.
 * __Report__ the assault to the police.

[|YWCA] Once you have called the police or the YWCA, you will most likely be sent either to the hospital or the YWCA facilities to be examined. During the examination a doctor and a nurse will interview you in order to determine what injuries require attention and treatment. They will need to carefully examine you, render medical assistance and collect evidence of the assault. In order to determine whether you have contracted any infections or became pregnant from the sexual assault, multiple tests will be preformed. Once the tests are complete, the evidence from the assault will need to be collected. The signs of sexual assault include the appearance of your clothing; indications of force, such as bruises; injuries; and foreign matter on your person. The doctor and nurse will obtain clothing, protect them, and send them to a police laboratory for analysis. If you decide to prosecute the assailant, the information will be available to help prove the case in court.

__**Your Emotions**__ It is completely normal for you to experience intense, uncomfortable feelings after a sexual assault. Below is a description of the stages victims often go through after a crisis such as rape:
 * The acute phase: (immediately following assault) Feeling numb, degraded, stunned, afraid, in shock, angry, unable to eat or sleep, jumpy, tearful, disbelieving, etc.
 * The outward resolution phase: Feeling more “back to normal,” at least to outward appearances, trying to forget the assault.
 * The re-integration phase: (several months to years after the assault) Gradual healing.

[|Link to WMU Department of Public Safety] :

Below is the thoughts and views of an actual rape victim at Western Michigan University. Like most college students, she thought that she would never go through what she did. She never thought that she would be raped. Luckily, she had gone to a seminar about campus rape (hosted by YWCA) only hours before, leaving her prepared to face what was about to come. Fear is simply a lack of knowledge over the subject. **Become educated on rape!** That seminar helped this victim get through her trauma in more than one way. Out of everything she got out of this situation the two things she has learned is **educating yourself on rape should be the HIGHEST priority and it is NEVER YOUR FAULT!**

//(This was taken from an actual rape victim at Western Michigan University. There is no text, statistics, or works to be cited, this is real life. She prefers to remain anonymous.)


 * the information on this page was gathered from a packet of worksheets that rape victims receive from the YWCA.//

This page was done by Heather Ward