A Victim of a Sexual Assault - Research Paper Example

? A Victim of a Sexual Assault A Victim of a Sexual Assault Sexual assault is defined as an assault that is sexual in nature, committed on a person without his or her consent. Under most common laws, sexual assault is defined as any form of sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a man, woman or child, without their consent. A person who commits sexual assault is called a sexual offender. When one is sexually assaulted, he or she should immediately report the matter to the police. This essay will advise a victim of sexual assault whether she can sue the offender; and if so, what she can sue the offender for. The essay will also advise the victim whether she can make the offender go to jail for assaulting her or not. Introduction Sexual assault is a form of sexual crime and what constitutes these types of crimes usually differs by legal jurisdictions and cultures (Oliver, 2007). However, what is common about sexual assaults is that they are crimes which are sexual in nature, involving sexual contact or sexual intercourse without the consent of the party that is being assaulted (Smothers, 2011). According to Wishart (2003), any type of sexual activity that one party does not agree to can be called sexual assault. There are different types of sexual assaults, depending on the type of sexual activities that take place. For example, sexual assault may be in the form of rape, inappropriate touching, child molestation, attempted rape, groping, sexual harassment, elderly sexual assault and sexual intercourse where one party says no to (Wright, 2010). The memo below will provide legal advice to a woman who has been sexually assaulted, informing her whether she can sue the offender, what she can sue her for and if she can make him go to jail. MEMO TO: Client (Sexual assault victim) FROM: Criminal attorney DATE: 14-January-2012 SUBJECT: Possibilities of a sexual assault case that was not reported to the police Following the unfortunate sexual assault ordeal that you underwent, this memo hereby address your concerns about the possibilities of this case regarding whether you can sue the offender and; and if so, what you can sue him for. This memo will also address whether you can make the offender go to jail or not. It is important to understand what a sexual assault means before proceeding to the possible damages that such as crime can attract. Any type of physical contact involving sexual organs that is unwanted is sexual assault. Many people perceive sexual assault as forcible rape, not knowing that it is only a type of sexual assault. This means that there are different types of sexual assaults recognized by the law. Sexual assault may be in the form of rape, inappropriate touching, child molestation, attempted rape, groping, sexual harassment, elderly sexual assault and sexual intercourse where one party says no to or any other sexual activity that a person says no to (Wright, 2010). The concept of assault comes about if the victim of the sexual ordeal did not consent to the sexual contact that they were subjected to. However, according to Smothers (2011), if the victim is a child or is intoxicated, he or she is not capable of giving legal consent to sexual contact. The sexual ordeal in such a case qualifies to be called a sexual assault. In fact, the law stipulates that sexual assault with a person who is intoxicated becomes sexual assault, regardless of the intoxicating substance that the assault victim was under the influence (Oliver, 2007). These substances may include “date-rape” drugs, alcohol, drugs or any other intoxicating substances. It is also important to note that if a person feels or thinks that they are a victim of sexual assault by having undergone any of the above ordeals, he or she is advised by the law to inform the police immediately. Reporting is important for many reasons such as preventing the same sexual offender from assaulting others, providing psychological closure for the victim and creating certainty about the victim’s health so as to dispel fears of medical problems as a result of the ordeal (Wishart, 2003). Wishart (2003) further notes that reporting can be done by calling the police via telephone, going to the police station in person or going to the hospital immediately after the assault. Victims are advised not to bath or shower, not to take any drugs or alcohol, not to wash their hair or hands, not to throw away or change their clothes and not to disturb or interfere with the area of the occurrence (Wright, 2010). According to Wright (2010), reporting to the police immediately one feels that they have been sexually assaulted is important because it will enable them to gather, evaluate and process evidence or information. The police are required by the law to treat the report seriously and critically evaluate the evidence so as to determine whether it will be used for prosecution. This evidence can be used to support your case if and when it goes to prosecution. The same evidence gathered can also determine if the case can be prosecuted or not and if there is a reasonable chance of the offender being convicted before heading to court (Oliver, 2007). The fact that you did not report the matter to the police brings a whole new twist to this case. The police were not informed of this incident and could not have evaluated, gathered, analyzed or processed evidence or information regarding the ordeal. This means that you do not have any tangible evidence against the offender. Oliver (2007) points out that you may sue the offender for sexual assault. However, he further notes that the chances of you winning this case are very slim because of the fact that the police were not informed of the alleged sexual assault. This would make it very difficult for you to make the sexual offender go to jail because of lack of evidence. Sexual assaults are regarded as criminal offenses which may attract punishments of several years in jail. Reporting to the police would have helped them determine the extent or seriousness of the assault, thereby giving you a stronger case in court (Smothers, 2011). The possible damages for suing the offender include the fact that you may lose the case for lack of evidence because you did not inform the police of the occurrence. Not informing the police did not give them the opportunity to investigate the facts of the case so as to ascertain whether you were indeed sexually assaulted (Wishart, 2003). Even though it is very unlikely that the offender accepts that he sexually assaulted you, you may only win the case and send him to jail if he agrees to the charges of sexually assaulting you. The civil damages may include the possibility of prison but on a prison sentence that is up to one year or less. This is because civil offenses rarely receive jail terms of over one year unless determined by statutory legislations of that legal jurisdiction (Oliver, 2007). Depending on the amount of time that has elapsed after the ordeal, and if you have not showered or taken a bath since then, you may be subjected to a medical examination to ascertain if you were sexually assaulted by the said offender. In this instance, you may have a strong case over the accused. However, if the amount of time that has elapsed is over 72 hours, it may not be possible to determine if you were sexually assaulted by the accused. Also, if you did not wash or take of the clothes since the ordeal and the amount of time that has passed since then is less than 72 hours, then you may have a case because it would be possible to determine if you were raped by the accused. Conclusion Sexual assaults of any kind should be reported to the police or a hospital immediately they occur. Reporting sexual assaults has been seen to have many advantages such as creating certainty about the health of the victim and providing evidence during a prosecution when the case goes to court. Not reporting a sexual assault is improper because the offender may go scot free and end up assaulting others. Reporting allows the police or the hospital to gather evidence and conduct investigations that will ascertain whether you were raped and by whom. Any form of sexual assault discussed in this essay should be reported so that the victims can get justice for the crimes committed against them. People need to be made aware of the importance of reporting sexual assaults. References Oliver, B. E. (2007). Preventing female-perpetrated sexual abuse. Trauma, violence and Abuse, 8(1), 19-32. Smothers, M. K. (2011). A sexual assault primary prevention model with diverse urban youth. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 20(6):708-727.  Wishart, G.D. (2003).The sexual abuse of people with learning difficulties: Do we need a social model approach to vulnerability?. Journal of Adult Protection, 5 (I3), 314-324. Wright, R. G. (2010). Sex offender laws: Failed policies, new directions. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Read More