Sexual Assault

If you have been hurt by an acquaintance, partner, family member or stranger, it was not your fault. The SUNY Niagara Wellness Center, 716-614-6275 provides free and confidential services to SUNY Niagara students who have been hurt by sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking. If you are on campus the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence hotline 716-433-6716 also provides free and confidential services for persons hurt by sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Below you will find information about sexual assault and services available for students. All of the information below is available in a PDF download, click here. If you are a Male survivor or identify as LGBTQ we have additional resource pages that may be helpful: Click here for Male survivors Click here for LGBTQ

Tell a person who will support you and/or contact the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence hotline at 716-433-6716 who will dispatch an advocate to the College or housing to assist you. If you’d rather text, please text 716-870-9726. https://ywcaniagarafrontier.org/ The SUNY Niagara Wellness Center provides assistance for SUNY Niagara students that are survivors of violence. We can answer questions, offer emotional support, and provide referrals. You can also make an appointment with a counselor by visiting the Wellness Center, located in the Science Building, (C Building), room C-122, or calling us at 716-614-6275. View the current schedule for counselors. For 24 hour assistance The YWCA of the Niagara Frontier provides a 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence helpline for survivors of sexual assault and relationship violence (1-716-433-6716). The helpline can answer questions, provide referrals or send a victim advocate to meet with you. Both services are free and confidential. We highly encourage survivors to contact an advocate. Have your medical needs attended to in the emergency room. Taking care of your physical and medical state can play an important role in healing. You may have internal and/or external injuries as a result of the assault requiring medical care. Additionally, you may want to explore options for preventing sexually transmitted infections/disease (STI/STD) and/or pregnancy. Emergency contraception (EC) is available at area pharmacies, while it is ‘over the counter’ and does not require an Rx, you will have to ask the pharmacist to obtain EC. There is no ‘right’ place to go for medical attention after an assault. Seek the services that best match your needs and comfort level – your own health care practitioner, a staff member at the SUNY Niagara Wellness Center, or your local emergency room. If you are a housing student, the closest hospital is Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport and it offers 24 hr coverage with specially trained nurses that will explain the options for having a sexual assault exam with collection of evidence, along with 24 hr coverage for an advocate to provide you with follow-up information and referrals. You have the right to decline services if you do not want an advocate or the collection of evidence. Contact Information: DeGraff Memorial Hospital 5300 Military Rd North Tonawanda, NY 14120 (716) 694-4500 OR Mt. St. Mary’s Hospital 5300 Military Rd Lewiston, NY 14092 (716) 297-4800 Things to know about the SAEC exam: Contact Information: YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence hotline staff is specially trained to identify and respond to the medical needs of sexual assault survivors. The Wellness Center can provide assistance in contacting an advocate to assist you in your choices for assistance. Contact Information: YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24-hour Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Hotline https://www.ywcaniagarafrontier.org Phone: 716-433-6716 Text: 716-870-9726 Not everyone is comfortable with using the criminal justice system or campus disciplinary process to respond to a sexual assault. It is your decision whether or not to take judicial or legal action against the perpetrator. We encourage you to seek out the support system that feels most appropriate and helpful. Students have the right to pursue criminal charges and/or disciplinary action through the student conduct process. For more information on the student conduct process please contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Services 716-614-6240, or the SUNY Niagara Public Safety Department at 716-614-6400, or the Title IX Officer at 716-614-5951 (employee) or the Office of the Vice President for Student Services at 716-614-6240 (student). To file a criminal complaint: Assaults that occurred on-campus can be reported to the Public Safety Department 716-614-6400. Assaults that occurred off-campus can be reported to law enforcement jurisdiction where the assault took place (911) or the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office at 716-438-3393. To pursue campus disciplinary action through the student conduct process (assaults that occurred on or off campus): Assaults can be reported to the Public Safety Department 716-614-6400, Office of the Vice President for Student Services 716-614-6240, Residence Life at 716-731-8850, or Title IX Officer 716-614-5951. To access resources on the difference between the criminal and college disciplinary processes: https://system.suny.edu/sexual-violence-prevention-workgroup/College-and-Criminal-Resource/ To gather more reporting information look up SAVR at: https://www.suny.edu/violence-response/ Contact Information: Public Safety Department G-Building – G-106 716-614-6400 test-suny-niagara.pantheonsite.io/security/ Email: securitydepartment@niagaracc.suny.edu Office of the Vice President for Student Services 2nd Floor, A building A-172 716-614-6240 Title IX Officer 2nd Floor, A Building A-264 716-614-5951 Niagara County Sheriff’s Office 5526 Niagara Street Ext, Lockport, NY 716-438-3388 https://www.niagarasheriff.com Things to know about filing a Police Report: When the police arrive, they will address your medical needs first to assess whether you need to go to the hospital. The police will also interview you about what happened. This may be difficult, but it is very important in order to complete a police report. The interview is conducted in private, but you can request to have a friend or another supportive person accompany you if you wish. Advocates from YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence hotline are available to be with you during the police interview. The police will get as much information as possible about the incident and investigate the case further. Once an investigation is completed, the police refer the case to the District Attorney’s Office. The District Attorney’s Office decides whether or not your case will be prosecuted by considering factors such as the amount of evidence available to prove the charge(s) in court. If the District Attorney decides not to prosecute, this does not mean that the District Attorney doesn’t believe that you were assaulted. It means that based on experience, he/she does not believe that there is sufficient evidence to win the case. Anonymous Sexual Assault Report If you do not wish to file a police report or a College incident report an anonymous sexual assault (ASA) report can be filed. An ASA report is a completely anonymous report to SUNY Niagara Public Safety. The report is used to gather data on sexual assault to create a more effective response to survivors. You can find the report by clicking here. Confidential Reporting Options To report the assault in a confidential manner with no investigation or information reported to the institution, students may go to the Wellness Center or call the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Hotline. Campus Security, Student Services, and Residence Life staff are considered mandatory reporters and incidents of sexual assault are documented to ensure proper protocol. Counseling can be an integral part of recovery from a sexual assault. Counselors in the SUNY Niagara Wellness Center can provide mental health services for victims of sexual assault. Their services are free and confidential. They are located in C-122, and you may view their current schedule. Counseling can also be arranged by contacting the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Hotline at 716-433-6716. These services are also free and confidential. After a sexual assault you may need to change your housing or academic schedule, contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Services (x 6240) or Residence Life at 716-731-8850 for more information.

Sex should feel good, mutual, intimate. When it doesn’t, people sometimes don’t know how to define it. When the experience falls on the coercion/abuse side of the continuum people are reluctant to call it rape or sexual violence unless it happened on a dark street with a stranger. If you feel bad, taken advantage of or abused, you should take these feelings seriously even if you don’t know what label to put on the experience. Confusion is a common response to an unexpected event. You did not intend or expect the situation to end with you feeling uncomfortable, bad or taken advantage of. It may take some time to process the unexpected, and possibly violent, turn of events. Accept your confusion as natural and pay attention to your other feelings and responses. Many people minimize the significance of an event and minimize the strength of their emotional response when something bad happens to them. In a way this can be an adaptive strategy, but it also can make it more difficult to deal with what happened. Be careful not to dismiss your feelings of discomfort too quickly. You may also be concerned that your decisions and actions contributed to the bad outcome and worry that it’s your fault. You are right in taking responsibility for your own decisions and actions, but you are not responsible for the actions of the other person, nor are you in any way “deserving” of what happened to you. If in your gut you feel that something “bad” or “wrong” happened and that you feel uncomfortable, hurt, angry, etc. then you need to take this gut awareness seriously. It is a fallacy that people over report sexual assault. In fact it is one of the most under reported crimes. The Wellness Center counselors or a YWCA Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence advocate can assist students who want to process their thoughts and feelings so they can fully deal with what happened. They can answer questions, be someone to talk to, offer emotional support, and provide referrals. All services are free and confidential.

The New York State Penal code broadly defines sexual assault as engaging in sexual intercourse (vaginal, oral, anal) with another person without such person’s consent. The Student Code of Conduct defines sexual assault as “Forced sexual acts or any sexual contact against one’s will as defined in NYS Penal Law section 130.00(3)” of the Student Code of Conduct. SUNY Niagara does not condone any form of sexual assault committed by any member of the College Community. Where there is probable cause to believe that the campus’ regulations prohibiting sexual assault have been violated, the campus will pursue strong disciplinary action through its own channels. This discipline includes the possibility of suspension or dismissal from the College. A student charged with sexual assault can be prosecuted under New York State criminal statutes and disciplined under the Student Code of Conduct. Even if the criminal justice authorities choose not to prosecute, the College can pursue disciplinary action. A student may be charged under the Student Code of Conduct. In addressing cases of sexual assault SUNY Niagara works to ensure fairness and to provide support for all persons involved, especially the victims. Students who have questions about the procedures and protections provided in these cases are encouraged to contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Services and/or the Public Safety Department. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the counseling services offered through the Wellness Center for further assistance. SUNY Niagara recognizes the following definition of consent: Consent is the agreement to engage in specific sexual contact, which may be given by verbal agreement or active and willing participation in the sexual activity. Consent to sexual contact or any specific sexual act cannot be given if an individual is incapacitated or impaired because of a physical or mental condition or the ingestion of drugs or alcohol, or under the age of 17. Silence, previous sexual relationships, current relationships, or the use of alcohol and/or drugs is not an indication of consent. The use of force, threat of force, threat of immediate or future harm, or use of physical intimidation to secure compliance with sexual activity is evidence of lack of consent. Consent may be initially given, but it may be revoked at any point, either verbally, through physical resistance, or by losing consciousness. Failure to cease sexual contact promptly in response to a withdrawal of consent constitutes prohibited non-consensual sexual contact. “No” or any other negative statement or acts/physical gestures supporting the desire to cease contact in response to sexual contact or an invitation to sexual contact will be regarded as a denial of consent to such sexual contact.

Sexual assault is any unwanted, coerced, or forced sexual contact or intercourse with someone who does not give or is unable to give consent (e.g. under the influence of alcohol or drugs or asleep). Sexual assault can involve the sexual penetration of a body orifice, but also includes other unwanted sexual contact. Most survivors will know their perpetrator(s); they may be a friend, current or former partner, classmate, co-worker, or date. Sexual assault can happen to women and men, individuals who are straight, bi-sexual, gay, or lesbian. Alcohol, date rape drugs or other substances may also be involved in the sexual assault. A common myth is that your assailant will be a stranger that jumps out of the bushes and assaults you. However, it is far more likely that your assailant will be an acquaintance. According to a Department of Justice report, “Ninety percent of college women who are victims of rape or attempted rape know their assailant. The attacker is usually a classmate, friend, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, or other acquaintance (in that order).” Survivors of sexual assault can be women or men, and sexual assault can occur between individuals of the same sex or gender. While more than 90% of survivors are women, men are also sexually assaulted and raped, usually by other men; 98% of men who rape other men identify themselves as heterosexual in consensual sexual relationships.

Observe how the environment around you is changing (such as your being left at a party by your friends when you do not know how you will get home). Adapted from Bowling Green State College’s Coalition Against Sexual Offenses

YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence advocates and the Wellness Center counselors provide survivors (and individuals assisting survivors) with emotional support, someone to talk to, and referrals for medical and legal options; in a setting that is non-judgmental. Services are free and confidential. If you are assisting a survivor and need help please contact the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier 24/7 Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Hotline or a SUNY Niagara Wellness Center counselor. Assisting someone who is coping with the aftermath of sexual assault can be a very difficult and confusing process.

The emotional trauma caused by a sexual assault can be severe and long-lasting. You may be affected in many different ways. Although each person is unique, there are some feelings and reactions that most sexual assault survivors experience. It can be helpful for you to know about these responses. You may experience some or all of these symptoms. They may occur immediately, or you may have a delayed reaction weeks or months later. Certain situations, such as seeing the assailant or testifying in court, may intensify the symptoms or cause them to reoccur after a period during which you have been feeling better. Please remember that all of your feelings and reactions are a normal part of recovery and it can help to talk with someone about how you are feeling.

The State University of New York and SUNY Niagara are committed to providing options, support and assistance to victims/survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking to ensure that they can continue to participate in College programs, activities, and employment. All victims/survivors of these crimes and violations, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, or criminal conviction, have the following rights, regardless of whether the crime or violation occurs on campus, off campus, or while studying abroad: Options in Brief: Victims/survivors have many options that can be pursued simultaneously, including one or more of the following: