Sexual assault leaves behind a hidden wound. No one can see from looking at the victims, but they have been violated in a deeply personal way that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. According to information from the Victim Center, 1 out of 6 women will be the victim of rape at some point during their lifetime, and 1 out of 20 men are victims of rape. For these individuals, healing starts with knowing the resources available.

  

For people to understand the problems associated with sexual assault, they must first know the definition. Alisa Garbisch, the Education Coordinator for the Victim Center, a resource for victims of sexual assault located in Downtown Springfield, teaches students of all ages about this issue.

  

“I would explain that sexual assault is any type of unwanted, uncomfortable contact of a sexual nature,” Garbisch said.

  

An important factor in sexual assaults is expression of consent, the willingness of both parties to do a particular action. In the state of Missouri, teenagers under the age of 14 cannot legally give consent. Jill Patterson, the Title IX Coordinator for Missouri State University, current president of the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education and a former prosecutor, explains the mindset she says people need to have about consent. Title IX is a program at the college level that works to enforce the equal treatment of men and women in all areas of life and protect victims of misconduct, including sexual assault.

  

“I think that we need to provide information to teenagers well before they go to college,” Patterson said.   “...teaching people that yes means yes and everything else means no”

  

Dr. Diana Eul, a counselor at Alpha Omega Delta in Springfield who specializes in sexual abuse and addiction, says people can be victimized in ways that do not meet a legal definition. She agrees with Patterson that a lack of education about consent is the cause of this.

  

“Once we know the definition of consent, [it] would be asking for permission rather than pushing a boundary until someone says stop,” Eul said. “Because if you push someone to the point of saying stop, you’ve violated them from an emotional standpoint.”

  

Many people who are against educating students on the issues surrounding sexual assault are afraid that the conversations will lead to young people engaging in sexual actions. Patterson says that students can be informed without there being a push for sex.

  

“There’s so many things that we could equip students with, all the while saying it’s our preference that you don’t have any sexual encounters at your age, but it’s still important to provide the information,” Patterson said.

  

From what Eul has seen in her work, perpetrators of sexual assault have often been victimized at some time in their lives. The aggressive behavior shown by the people who sexually assault others stems from the desire to regain their power.

  

“A lot of times people will just reenact... what had occurred to them as a play to get their power back,” Eul said. “Most of this is based in faulty thinking.”

  

Victims of sexual assault have many choices to make after they have been violated. Patterson advises victims to share their story with a safe individual who can get them help, as it can be unhealthy for victims to keep trauma inside. She also says that sexual assault victims should get a forensic exam quickly after the assault to ensure evidence can be collected.

  

“Whenever you keep a secret like that, it’s really the person who did you harm whose secret you’re keeping, not yours,” Patterson said.

  

Most victims who decide to remain silent about their abuse often choose to do so out of feelings of shame or guilt. There can also be an aspect of pleasure within sexual assault that can leave victims feeling distraught. This concept is normal and an effect of the stimulation of nerves.

  

“There is also the thing called the pain-pleasure paradox,” Eul said. “Because sexual abuse or sexual assault has to do with being touched sexually..., you’re utilizing nerve endings that connect to the pleasure center in the brain, and it feels good. It feels good even if it’s unwanted touch because it’s simply nerves being stimulated.”

  

For individuals who still feel unable to share or do not feel safe to share, writing about the experience in a journal can help them cope. Once it is written, the victim can decide what to do with it, and that may mean burning it.

  

The #MeToo Movement is a social media movement that promotes victims speaking out about their experiences. While many view this as a positive expression, Eul stresses that victims need to share in a safe environment.

  

“People need to be warned against how damaging that [sharing on social media] can be for themselves because once it’s out there, it can’t be taken back,” Eul said. “When you tell, it needs to be in a safe environment with someone that’s trustworthy.”

  

There are many complex aspects to each scenario of sexual assault, and Patterson likes to use her knowledge to help out students struggling with sexual assault. If a victim feels safe enough to share their experience with a teacher or counselor, that school official will have to report the account to either the administration within Title IX or the police because they are mandatory reporters. There are multiple paths that victims can take in reporting their assault.

  

“I think that most people who’ve been through a difficult situation like this aren’t equipped to decide whether there’s enough evidence or whether it fits a certain definition, so they need to go to somebody who really knows a lot about it,” Patterson said.

  

For victims who seek medical attention, they can go to the emergency room at Cox South in Springfield. There are Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) nurses that will support them through their options and collect evidence from them if the victim wishes. SANE nurses are on-call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. SANE exams last an average of four hours, including the time for paperwork and the collection of evidence the nurses collect in the form of a rape kit.

  

If a victim under the age of 18 comes in reporting sexual assault, SANE nurses must inform law enforcement; however, the decision of whether or not they would like to press charges is still up to the patient. The SANE program also has a relationship with the Victim Center, and they can call a representative to come to the hospital as a support to the patient.

  

For someone to be sexually assaulted, they do not have to experience rape. In instances where the perpetrators were not successful in raping an individual or victimized them in another manner, a SANE exam can still be beneficial in collecting information.

  

“Even if an individual does not experience penetration, the forensic evidence that’s collected in an emergency room by a SANE nurse… includes saliva and includes hair,” Garbisch said. “It’s not just looking for evidence of penetration because it’s still sexual assault.”

  

Another deterrent that makes victims feel that they are unable to get help is if they had been drinking underage or using illegal substances. While this is a relevant factor in a case where a victim is pressing charges against their abuser, victims will not be charged for these actions.

  

“When a person’s been victimized while they’re intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, that is not prosecuted,” Patterson said. “In both instances, cases that I work from the institutional perspective as well as potential prosecution in state court or in juvenile office, it’s relevant that people are drinking because that’s one of the things that can affect a person’s ability to accurately perceive and/or report what has happened.”

  

After a rape kit is collected, it is turned over to the police where it must be turned into the crime lab within 14 days, according to Missouri law. Victoria Ross, former SANE Coordinator at Cox Health, detailed the special process SANE nurses use to prevent anyone without clearance from accessing the kit.  

  

“We do something called chain of custody, which means we have forms that log who is having access to that evidence so that it keeps track of everyone to prevent other people from tampering with it,” Ross said.

  

In a recent article from CNN, there were reports of the destruction of evidence collected from a SANE exam by the Springfield Police Department (SPD). There were also accounts of rape kits never getting turned into the police. A new Missouri law hopes to remove this problem.

  

“There’s going to be a new electronic medical evidence kit tracking system so that a survivor is given a number of their kit, and they can log on to an account and see exactly where their kit is,” Ross said.

  

Me Too Springfield, a local affiliate of the #MeToo Movement, commented in a statement on this misfortune and shared how this can be a positive step for Springfield.  

  

“Although we are heartbroken and frustrated, we recognize that we want the same thing from our law enforcement that SPD wants––‘to evolve and grow alongside the community we serve,’” the statement read.  “And because of SPD’s commitment to being proactive, victim-centered, and trauma-informed, Me Too Springfield is confident that this is an opportunity for cooperative dialogue in the spirit of progress for our community.”

  

Me Too Springfield is a way for victims of sexual assault to find a community of people who have experienced similar things. They work closely with the Victim Center and other organizations in Springfield that support sexual assault victims such as Harmony House and the GLO Center. In early October, Me Too Springfield organized an event to shed some light on sexual assault. Jordan Harris, co-founder and president of the organization, explained their mission.

  

“We support sexual assault survivors,” Harris said. “We believe them. We build a community so that they know that they’re not alone.”

  

For people to be able to heal from sexual assault, they need to feel supported. Ross says that the way to remove the stigmas associated with sexual assault and the tendencies of victims to feel abandoned is through education.

  

“Besides serving our communities and serving our survivors of sexual assault and doing education in the community, one of our biggest goals is to see the culture around sexual assault change to break down those barriers, to change those myths that people believe so that there one day won’t be any more victim blaming,” Ross said. “So when our victims come in, they are empowered to speak out, and they feel supported instead of telling themselves that it’s their fault which is not true.”

 

Victims of sexual assault can use the resources provided by a variety of support organizations in Springfield.  The Victim Center offers free counseling services, support during SANE exams, court help and many other elements of support. Victims can also reach out to their crisis line at 417-864-7233 or visit their website at www.thevictimcenter.org. If you would like to seek medical attention for a sexual assault, you can go to the emergency room at Cox South located at 3801 South National Avenue. The resources above can direct victims to counseling. To contact Diana Eul, call her office, Alpha Omega Delta, at 417-881-2444. For students who would like help navigating their options after a sexual assault, contact Jill Patterson through email at jillpatterson@missouristate.edu or call 417-836-8506. For additional resources, look at the information box on page 25.