Know Your Legal Rights
A rape victim has the choice whether or not to report the rape to the police. The victim can report to the police at a later date if s/he chooses, but there are several reasons why reporting the rape to the police as soon as possible after the assault is important:
1.) The police will be able to gather valuable evidence before it is destroyed.
2.) The police will obtain details of the assault from the victim and any witnesses while they are still vivid and fresh.
3.) The police will attempt to identify and/or capture the assailant more quickly.
4.) The complaint will seem more credible to the jury when it is reported early.
If a victim does not want to press charges agains the perpetrator(s), s/he has two other options in reporting the assault:
1.) S/he can make a report to the police and the process will end there. In this instance, the police will not apprehend the perpetrator and the victim will not be questioned intensively nor will the alleged perpetrator be contacted after the initial report.
2.) The alternative option, a "third party report," entails having another person (third person) make a report of all the details to the police. The victim remains completely anonymous. Such a report can be made over the phone (x800 emergency, x2490 routine), in person, or by submitting a form to the Department of Public Safety. If the assault occurs off-campus, it can still be reported to the Smith College Department of Public Safety.
The victim, by law, has the right to speak with a female police officer. The Smith College Department of Public Safety has several certified rape investigators, most of whom are women.
*Modified from the Smith College Department of Public Safety Pamphlet: "Sexual Assault: Are you at risk?"
Back to Rape Crisis
Written by Gwen Reichert '07
Last Updated: 8-18-05
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