Oct. 20, 2015

My name is Kailee Falvo and in Nov. 2013, I became part of a statistic. No, it was not a good statistic, definitely not one I find myself boasting about. The reason for that is simple; I became another person that is filed under the “campus sexual assault” data.

I am not here to write about my story, but I am here to give resources to those who are survivors of sexual assault and to those who may have recently found themselves in this situation. As always, it is not your fault. I do not care if you are female, male, what your background is or anything like that; you did not deserve what happened to you. It may take some time to realize that, and that’s normal because it took me awhile to realize as well.

Now, I want to begin with the issue of reporting. One of the biggest things people believe is you must report the assault to the police if you go to the hospital; that is false. Going to the hospital to get a rape kit done does not mean the police must be involved, it is strictly up to that person. Yes, there are many steps that will take place if that person decides to report it, such as wanting to let the college know. You may report it to the police, and not to the college, and the police will make sure it is kept like that. However, once the police are involved, you must keep silent about what happened that particular night, and only talk to those that knew about the incident prior to the police being involved. Another big part of this is the presence of alcohol. It is common knowledge that when you are under the influence, you cannot give consent because of the state you are in. Male or female, if the person assaulting you knows you cannot, in clear conscious, make decisions and uses that against you, that is on them. Unfortunately, some believe that if they were drunk during the incident that nothing will happen if they were to report it. I can tell you, that is false. Especially when the words, “no” at any moment are uttered, and the act is continued, the police will take it seriously.

College should not be a place where someone has to call their parents from the hospital to tell them that they were raped.

Kailee Falvo

Social Work BA