4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2005
RAPE KIT: STEP-BY-STEP
Reporting a rape can be a traumatic process within itself. Some Lawrence experts who work with victims on a daily basis say some victims would rather let their rapist walk free than undergo tests and investigations. Sexual assault nurse Lauren Doerfler said it was important women seek medical attention after an assault. Reports can be filed to the Lawrence Police Department anonymously, and women can always decide not to file charges against their attacker.
The following is a summary of what consists of completing a standard rape kit.
- Women are first examined by a triage nurse to make sure they're breathing normally and to assess there is not a medical emergency
A nurse in the emergency room calls the Lawrence Police Department.
Next, a representative of GaDuGi SafeCenter is called. "They can be a problem solver, Doerfler said. "Sometimes it's hard to make some big decisions." SafeCenter representatives can field questions from women and also set up initial contact for counseling if she chooses to participate in GaDuGi's programs.
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◆ The sexual assault nurse will go with the patient into a private room where he or she will ask a variety of questions to make sure the woman's story is documented.
The sexual assault nurse will then proceed in evidence collection, which includes taking samples from several key areas of the body. "It's very black and white for the nurse," Doerfler said. Following is a list of samples a nurse would take:
30 to 50 hairs from all over the head
Mouth is swabbed if there was oral penetration
- Pubic hairs are combed through for evidence
30 to 50 pubic hairs are plucked. Dorffler said the likelihood of evidence from this sample is fairly high
A urine pregnancy test is administered in order to determine whether it's safe to give patients medicine to counter any possible STDs. Medicine is given to patients for free
- Swab samples from the rectum
- Swab samples from the vaginal wall and cervix
Patients are offered the morning after pill, which is taken in two doses
♦ Finally, the sexual assault nurse will collect the patients clothes and give her fresh clothes to wear home
More than 60 percent of rape victims know their attacker, according to Rape Abuse and Incest National Network. In the last five years 10 rapes have been reported to the KU Public Safety Office. Seven women cited the rapist was a friend or acquaintance.
Doerfler said it's important that women don't shower after the rape in order to protect evidence. If there are any other items that may have evidence on them, or if you change clothes, Doerfler cautions to keep items in a paper bag. Condensation would form on the inside of plastic bags and jeopardize evidence.
Source: Lawrence Memorial Hospital
Survivors
Kansas show similar findings. Of the 10 rapes reported to the KU Public Safety Office within the last five years, seven women knew the man they filed a report against.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Angela told a few friends who refused to believe the man would have raped her.
"They told me I was dreaming or something, she said. "I convinced myself it didn't happen. I didn't want to make a fool of myself."
believe the man. Her friends didn't want to hear it because it involved someone they knew and liked, she said."
Her reaction wasn't unusual, said Jerilyn Smith, director of survivor services at GaDuGi SafeCenter.
"It's really hard to tell on someone you know," she said. Victims often worry how it will change their relationship with other people as well. "They think, really, if I keep quiet about it, it may be easier."
really, if I keep quiet Distract herself from emotions was easy. She acted like nothing happened and did everything she could to keep from thinking of that night.
Internalizing the rape was not so easy.
Hermain was to remove herself from that social circle, where she felt the people she called friends would rather lose Angela than her attacker
hous would rather lose Angelia than her audience. "I was always more expendable than the guy who raped me," she said.
T
It was more than six months before Angela found someone who believed her story. She told her boyfriend at the time.
No one will believe me
her boyfriend at the were times she wondered if anyone would believe her. That fear is shared among many victims.
The University Daily Kansan randomly surveyed about 300 female students. One of the 11 questions asked why victims did not report rape to police.
Illustration by Courtney Kuhlen/KANSAN
Five of the 10 women who responded they were raped said they didn't report it because they thought no one would believe them.
Like many nights in Spain, the Norman, Okla., senior, met other students studying abroad. Two Irish men introduced themselves and gave Anne
It was Anne's 22nd birthday. Studying abroad in Spain, she couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than drinking with friends.
Anne knows some people don't believe her.
While it is possible for victims to overcome the trauma of rape, rape crisis experts say it's important women know resources are available. Counseling often helps regain the sense of control, which is often lost after a sexual assault.
birthday kisses on her cheeks
By the end of the night she was separated from her old friends.
She thought it best that she go home with Brian and find her way to her dorm in the morning.
Depressed and feeling hurt about a failing relationship with her boyfriend, she didn't think it was so bad when she finally gave Brian a "real" kiss.
The kisses were as abundant as the drinks they had consumed.
She remembers taking off her shirt and the rest of her clothes. After Anne refused to have intercourse with him, they went to sleep.
The next thing Anne remembers is waking up with Brian on top of her and inside of her.
with Brian on top of her and inside of her. Not knowing what else to do, she waited until morning to go back to where she was staying.
Relieved to see her, friends congratulated her on getting "birthday booty."
She went along with the congratulatory highfives, but she knew her experience was not something to celebrate — she knew it was wrong
"It was about 10 days before I realized that I'd been raped," Anne said.
Pam Botts, Counseling and Psychological Services clinical director, said victims go through a time, usually immediately after the rape, where they want to minimize what happened.
As in Anne's case, when alcohol is involved, women doubt themselves even more, Botts said.
That's what Anne is dealing with now.
"Alcohol impairs judgment and impairs your memory. It impairs recalling accurately what happened," she said.
That's what Anne is dealing with. Anne has had friends tell her she wasn't raped. They call it a typical one night stand.
But Anne knows better.
Anne said her rape, like many others, fell into a confusing gray area.
There are obvious cases, like the stranger that jumps out of the bushes, and it's a violent attack," she said. "But there are some instances when you say, 'I'm not OK with this' and it still happens. That's rape."
In addition to overcoming emotional trauma, Anne has worried about her physical health, getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases every month or so. She was waiting on HIV results when interviewed for this article.
And even though she allowed some physical interaction with Brian, she declined to have intercourse with him, she said.
"I knew philosophically I hadn't given consent," she said. "You start thinking, did I give signals?"
"You hear about rape in your women's studies class and your feminist class. I read the scary articles in Cosmo," Anne said. "I feel foolish and dirty. I'm tainted."
Rape kits and police questions:
"I think it's great when girls have the guts to go to the hospital and have the tests done," she said. "I wasn't emotionally strong enough."
Looking back, Angela wishes she had gone to the police and made an attempt to bring justice to her rapist.
Botts said some women, like Angela, experienced so much trauma from the initial attack that filing a report and undergoing a clinical rape kit could be too much. A rape kit is a set of medical tests that compiles physical evidence from the rape.
"Sometimes people are physiologically in shock," she said. "This is an extremely uncom-
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