Skip to content
Sexual Misconduct and Title IX
Office of Equity and Inclusion

If You Have Experienced Physical or Sexual Violence

Your safety is the number one priority. If you have experienced physical or sexual violence, go to a safe place and seek immediate support from people who will be able to assist you.

If you have experienced physical or sexual violence, you are not alone.

Remember, you are not to blame, regardless of the circumstances. Nothing you have done (dress the way you wanted to, drink too much, have sex with the same person before, etc.) warrants someone sexually assaulting, sexually harassing, or physically assaulting you. Sexual violence happens to people of all genders, identities, and sexual orientations.

Many people can provide medical and emotional support, regardless of whether you choose to pursue disciplinary or criminal proceedings. It is important to note that below are recommended guidelines and useful resources to know following sexual misconduct and are not meant to be directive.

What to know

  • You set the pace. You have the right to choose to whom you will speak, what resources you will use, what you will say, and when you will say it.
  • There are many resources available to help you, both at the University and in the community.
  • You do not need to decide whether you want to file a report immediately, but you should have any physical evidence collected as quickly as possible. Best practices around preserving evidence both for specific types of prohibited conduct and in general, can be found below.
  • It is your choice whether to name the other person(s) or not.
  • Your information at the University will be kept private and only shared with those who “need to know.” We want to take care of you and keep you safe, and we want to make sure that others in the community are safe.
  • The University prohibits sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and related retaliation.

The following are suggested steps to take:

Emergency Response

If you need immediate help, contact emergency services as soon as possible and provide as much information as you can. 

  • Call University Public Safety at (585) 275-3333 (24 hours, 365 days), if you are on campus.
  • Blue Light Phones: Pick up a Blue Light phone anywhere on a University campus to be put in touch with a DPS officer immediately.
  • Call 911 (Police Dispatch, Monroe County Emergency Communications), if the conduct occurred off University property.

Seeking Medical Care

It is important to get care as soon as possible. Even if you feel okay, a sexual assault could expose you to a risk of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and internal physical trauma, so it is important to be examined by a doctor even if you do not wish to have evidence collected. In addition to receiving medical attention, clinicians can assist you in collecting forensic evidence if you choose to do so. If possible, having evidence collected as soon as possible preserves your right to decide at a later date if you choose to go through a criminal process.

You do not need to file a report to receive medical services. 

Medical Services and Locations

In Monroe County, New York, a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Center (SAFE Center) is located in the emergency department at:

The Department of Public Safety can provide transportation.

University Health Service: Physician is on-call when the offices are closed.

Sexual Assault Examination and Kit Collection

Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester General Hospital, and Unity Hospital have Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) on staff. A SANE is a registered nurse specially trained to provide comprehensive care to patients who have experienced sexual assault in a sensitive, non-threatening manner. SANEs and SAFEs receive intensive classroom and clinical training, which covers evidence collection, injury detection methods, chain-of-custody requirements, methods to avoid re-traumatizing a victim during an examination, and other topics related to both prosecutions and meeting the needs of sexual assault victims. The entire health care and evidentiary exam is conducted at the patient’s discretion. The patient may withdraw consent at any time, or may choose to complete only certain parts of the health care exam, evidentiary exam, or health care treatment. This collaborative approach for responding to sexual assault has produced numerous best practices that:

  • Enhance the quality of health care for individuals who have been sexually
    assaulted;
  • Improve the quality of forensic evidence;
  • Increase law enforcement’s ability to collect information, file charges, and
    refer an investigation to prosecution; and
  • Increase prosecution rates over time.

The SANE may contact the police if a patient presents with serious injuries caused by a weapon, but patients can choose whether or not to talk to the police.

Evidence can be collected up to 120 hours or 5 days post-assault. Evidence collected during this examination allows someone the option to choose at a later date to pursue a criminal process which can be used to aid an investigation, identify alleged perpetrators, or corroborate facts.

During an exam with a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, injuries will be assessed and treated. A SANE will also discuss options for treatment for possible exposure to sexually transmitted infections, offer HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, and/or discuss options for emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.

A ‘New York State Sexual Assault Victim Bill of Rights‘ is provided to those receiving a SANE or SAFE examination.

How Sexual Assault Kits are Billed

Emergency Room charges for the Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit visit are billed directly to the New York State Crime Victims Board on a routine basis. This process allows everyone, whether individuals have made a report to University Public Safety or to the Police Department or not, to bypass private medical insurance carrier. This is especially important to individuals who do not have medical insurance or to those who may not want family members to learn about the Emergency Room visit.

  • The New York State Office of Victim Services may be able to assist in compensating victims/survivors for health care and counseling services, including emergency compensation. Options can be explored at the Office of Victim Services Crime Victims website, or by calling 1-800-247-8035.
  • Individuals are asked to complete a form giving permission for the hospital to notify the Crime Victims Board that the individual went to the Emergency Room for sexual assault.

Preserving Evidence

In order to preserve evidence that can be used later in a criminal process, if you are able, try to avoid disturbing or discarding evidence that might have your attacker’s DNA on it before you seek medical care. Taking these steps can be very difficult following a traumatic experience but doing so will help preserve potential evidence should you decide to make a report.

If the assault happened within the last 5 days/120 hours, you may also want to consider forensic evidence collection, even if you don’t want to press criminal charges. It is best to be examined as soon as possible after an event.  Some substances leave the system within 6 or 12 hours, so if there is concern that drugs or alcohol have been used to assist an assault, this may be a consideration.

Important information and best practices around preserving evidence both for specific types of prohibited behavior(s) and in general, can be found below.

General Tips for Preserving Evidence
  • Record the names of any witnesses and their contact information.
    • This information may be helpful as proof of a crime, to obtain an order of protection, or to offer proof of a university policy violation.
  • Try to recall details (e.g., physical description, names, dates, license plate number, car description, things you could hear/see/smell/feel, etc.) and write as much down as you remember about the circumstances of what occurred.
  • Make efforts to save relevant communications, such as text messages, voicemail and other phone records, emails, photos or videos, social media interactions, or other records.
    • To avoid losing this data if your device becomes damaged or replaced, it’s beneficial to save copies of these communications to a secure drive or the cloud, or even print them out and file the hard copies away in a safe place.
Sexual Assault/Rape

In order to preserve evidence that can be used later in a criminal process, if you are able, try to avoid disturbing or discarding evidence that might have your attacker’s DNA on it before you seek medical care. Because some kinds of evidence may only be collected within a short time period after an assault, preserving evidence immediately can be an extremely important step.

Tips for evidence collection:

  • To preserve the evidence of an assault, try to resist the urge to cleanse yourself. Do not urinate or defecate; shower, bathe, or douche; brush your teeth or gargle; brush your hair; eat, drink, or smoke; disturb the area where the assault occurred; or throw away clothes worn during the attack.
  • Save each item of clothing worn and/or bedding at the time of the assault in a separate paper bag.
  • Document any physical injuries.

You can still have an exam performed even if you have done one of these activities, such as showering. You may want to bring a change of clothes/underwear & a phone charger when you go to the hospital or health facility for the exam.

Dating and Domestic Violence

If physical injuries are present, photograph or have them photographed.

Things to consider:

  • Include a date stamp on each photo.
  • Be sure to take photographs at various time points to capture the healing process.
    • For example, it may take a few days for bruising or other signs of injury to appear so if photographs are only taken immediately after a physically violent situation occurs, important details/evidence of the injuries may not be captured.
      • Take photographs from various angles to document the full scope of the injuries.

If you obtain external orders of protection (e.g., personal protection orders, injunctions, protection from abuse), please notify the Department of Public Safety (and local law enforcement if it happened off-campus) and the Title IX Coordinator so that those orders can be observed on campus. The Title IX Coordinator may provide supportive measures such as a No Contact Order.

A safety plan is a personalized, practical plan to improve your safety while experiencing abuse, preparing to leave an abusive situation, or after you leave.

Stalking

Stalking is demonstrated through a pattern of unwanted contact or conduct.

Recording information about the stalking behavior you may be experiencing will help to document the behavior for University resolution processes, order of protection applications, divorce and child custody cases, or criminal prosecution should you wish to proceed with any of those options. It can also help preserve your memory of individual incidents about which you might later report or testify.

  • This stalking log can be used to record and document all stalking-related behavior, including harassing or unwanted: phone calls, text messages, letters, e-mail messages, acts of vandalism, and threats communicated through third parties.
  • When reporting the conduct to law enforcement, always write down the officer’s name and badge number for your own records. Even if the officers do not make an arrest, you can ask them to make a written report and request a copy for your records.

  • In addition to logging unwanted contact, an advocate or police officer may recommend you save and photograph unwanted text messages, emails, letters and gifts and store them in a secure location.

Emotional Support

Whether or not physical or sexual violence requires medical attention, you may want to seek emotional support as you cope and recover. There is no right or wrong response to an assault; everyone reacts differently. Some people may experience a strong immediate response, while others seem to function fine immediately but have reactions long after the event occurs. It is not unusual to experience shock, anger, helplessness, self-blame, shame, problems with eating or sleeping, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, difficulty trusting others, irritability, denial and/or fear. Many individuals find some relief in talking to empathetic friends, advocacy services, and counselors.

Talking about an experience of sexual assault is one of the most effective ways of processing your feelings and gaining an understanding about your own and others’ responses and reactions. Putting all this into words with another person can be a step towards healing.

Support (On & Off-Campus)

Getting help now can help reduce the impact the assault has on your life.

File for an Order of Protection

To start a proceeding in Monroe County Family Court, you must file a petition at the Hall of Justice, 99 Exchange Boulevard, Room 301A (Probation Intake). It is an order issued by a court to limit the behavior of someone who harms or threatens to harm another person. You do not need a police report in order to file for an order of protection.

The order may direct the offending person not to injure, threaten or harass you or any other person(s) listed in the order. It may include, but not be limited to, directing the named individual to:

  • stay away from you
  • stay away from your children
  • stay away from your home, place of employment, school, etc.
  • not communicate with you by any means, including a third person
  • refrain from abusive or threatening behavior
  • move out of your home
  • grant temporary physical residency of minor children
  • not have a gun

Family Courts – an order can be obtained to address violence within a family or within an intimate relationship, and provide protection. You can file against someone who is abusive in this court if:

  • you are related by blood or marriage;
  • you are or were legally married;
  • you have a child in common; or
  • you are or were in an intimate relationship (not casual, social, or business acquaintances).
Request an Order of Protection

Public Safety, Willow Domestic Violence Center, and RESTORE Sexual Assault Services can all assist you in obtaining an Order of Protection (OOP) through Family Court against a current or former spouse or intimate partner.

For more information, you may review this Order of Protection Guide.

Fill Out The Online Reporting Form

Filing a report provides you with a way to report sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, or related retaliation to Title IX Staff at the University of Rochester.

You don’t need to include your name or the name of the other people involved on the form if you do not want to file a formal report, but this does allow the University to capture information about what happened in case you wish to make a report in the future.

File an Online Report

Emergency Contraception

Emergency contraception (EC), sometimes called “the morning-after pill” or “Plan B,” can stop a pregnancy before it starts or reduce the chance of pregnancy. Emergency contraception is recommended if a condom broke or slipped off during sex, a birth control pill was missed, or no birth control method was used. It can be used after sex where both partners agreed to have sex  – or after sex where both partners did not agree to have sex. Emergency contraception is most effective if taken as soon as possible but can be used up to five days (or 120 hours) after unprotected sex. It does not work if pregnancy has already occurred. Emergency contraception does not end a pregnancy.

Review New York State’s guide on ‘Emergency Contraception for Preventing Pregnancy What You Need to Know‘.

Obtaining Emergency Contraception 

Emergency contraception (EContra One-Step) is available at UHS Primary Care at a reduced cost, does not require a prescription, and no appointment is needed. EC may also be available in the UHS Wellness on Demand vending machine at no cost when supply allows. Visit the UHS website to learn more about EC options and how to obtain them.