If you have not done so, you should seek medical care from Gannett: Cornell University Health Services, the hospital or a private physician. Gannett staff or the University Police will provide transportation to students, staff and faculty who require medical care after an assault has occurred. You will benefit from being examined for physical injury and disease. You will also have the opportunity to discuss options for counseling available on campus (or downtown) and for pregnancy prevention. Post-sexual assault and rape services can be provided by Gannett. Gannett staff are bound by confidentiality and will not notify anyone including other staff, faculty or students without your permission.

The kind of evidence that supports a legal case against an assailant should be collected within 72 hours of an assault. This exam is conducted at Cayuga Medical Center, usually by on-call nurses who are trained to do sensitive evidence collection. It is your right to decide whether you want to go through the evidence collection exam. If you decide to have it, you may ask the clinician to stop at any time. Many women find this examination invasive, but the evidence collection may be very important should you decide to pursue criminal or civil charges. If you elect not to get the evidence collection exam performed, remember you may still receive services at Gannett or elsewhere for disease and pregnancy prevention.

Reporting the Assault:

The decision to report the crime is yours. You have the option to simply report the incident for police records without filing a formal complaint. There will be no investigation unless a formal complaint is filed.

Filing a complaint may make you feel better. Some women find taking legal action therapeutic. The process of providing facts concerning the rape can relieve a sense of helplessness. Some women feel that contributing to the prosecution of the assailant may prevent someone else from being victimized.

However, the wheels of justice turn slowly and it could take a year for your case to reach a conclusion. Deciding whether to file a complaint is a difficult choice. You should know that:

Once an assault is reported to law enforcement agencies and charges are filed, the
    police initiate an investigation. The police decide whether a woman's complaint is
    "founded" or "unfounded". Only "founded" complaints are forwarded to the District
    Attorney for prosecution. The District Attorney's office will then determine whether
    there is enough evidence to prosecute.
One study reported that of the "founded" cases, only 1/3 of the cases involving
    stranger rape and 7% of those involving acquaintances led to indictments (an
    assailant was arrested and charged with a crime); even if an arrest is made,
    conviction is not guaranteed. Some studies estimated that of those cases in which
    arrests were made, only 20%-32% resulted in convictions.

If You Choose to Report, To Whom Should You Report the Crime?

Where the crime occurred determines which police department will be responsible for the investigation. Members of the Cornell community may find it most efficient to call the Cornell Police (911 in an emergency, or 255-1111) regardless of whether the incident occurred on or off campus. Although the University Police's jurisdiction is limited to the Cornell campus, they will contact the appropriate departments for you.

The police are responsible for determining whether or not a crime has been committed. During the course of the investigation they will need to ask specific details about what happened. This is routine for the officers, but you may feel more comfortable if you have someone with you during questioning. You may also request that a female officer take your statement, although the availability of a female officer cannot be guaranteed.

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