About Assault

WHAT IS SEXUAL ASSAULT?

Sexual Assault is a crime of violence, power, and control. It occurs when a person is forced, threatened, coerced, intimidated or manipulated into sexual contact they did not want. It includes any kind of unwanted sexual contact. Sexual assault is not about sex, lust, or passion. Its an act of power, control, and violence used to dominate and humiliate another person. Because many people believe that only forcible rape by a stranger is sexual assault, victims (and others) sometimes blame themselves for the feelings they have after an assault, especially if they were assaulted by someone they know. Having a better understanding of sexual assault can help survivors of assault, and the people close to them, understand why they feel the way they do.

Eighty percent of all sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows - a date, a neighbor, a co-worker, a family member, a spouse. Rape or sexual assault by someone the victim knows is as serious a crime as rape committed by a stranger.

We cannot explain why sexual assault happens to some people and not to others. Many victims believe they did something to cause the assault. No one asks to be assaulted. No one deserves to be assaulted.

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT?

Sexual Assault is an invasion of a person's control of their own body, and can be a humiliating and terrifying experience. Some people fear for their lives. In other cases, a sexual assault may not seem life threatening, but still affect the survivor in all aspects of life. Survivors may experience many feelings - including numbness, disbelief, shock, shame, fear, anger, and guilt. Following an assault a person may:

	be afraid to go out or stay home alone
	have memories that disrupt work and daily life
	have no appetite; or want to eat all the time
	not be able to cry; or cry all the time
	not be able to trust anyone
	be depressed, suicidal, or have panic attacks
	avoid friends and family
	feel crazy, helpless, or worthless
	drink or abuse drugs

Most of all, a person feels that the control of their own body and life has been taken away. Someone who has been assaulted often wants to have the sense that he/she is once again in control of his/her choices, decisions, and actions.

*Above information extracted from the Virginians Aligned Against Sexual Assault Brochure (www.vaasa.org) and the Sexual Assault Resource Agency (www.sexualassaultresources.org).

PROFILE OF A RAPIST

Using methods not unlike those employed by FBI profilers to predict the behavior of serial killers, police and forensic psychologists have identified four profiles of rapists defined by motive, style of attack and psychosexual characteristics. The characteristics of each of the four rapist profiles:

	Power-assertive rapist: Athletic, has a "macho" image of himself. More often than not, this is the type who commits date rapes. He typically meets his victim in a bar or nightclub. Instead of targeting a specific victim, he looks for an opportunity to get a woman alone with him, perhaps with an offer of a ride home or an invitation back to his place. Or he may con his victim into trusting him or letting him into her home. Approximately 44 percent of rapes are committed by power-assertive rapists. He is physically aggressive, and will use the amount of force needed to control you -- but he does not intend to kill you.
	Anger-retaliatory rapist: He feels animosity towards women and wants to punish and degrade them. He may be a substance abuser. He is impulsive and has an explosive temper. He looks for an opportunity to commit the rape rather than for a specific victim. He attacks spontaneously and forces the woman into submission. Thirty percent of rapists fall into the anger-retaliation category. Any level of resistance may well enrage him and cause him to beat the hell out of you until he gets what he wants.
	Power-reassurance rapist: He lacks the self-confidence and interpersonal skills to develop relationships with women. He is passive and nonathletic. He may live or work near his victim, and "preselects" her by peeping or stalking, then breaks into the home to accomplish his act. The power-reassurance type accounts for 21 percent of rapists and is the least violent.
	Anger-excitation rapist: A sadist, who derives sexual gratification from inflicting pain. He is typically charming and intelligent. The crime is premeditated and rehearsed methodically in his mind before it is attempted. His victims may or may not be strangers. f the four types he is the most criminally sophisticated and it's difficult to catch him. Just five percent of rapists fit this description.

*Above information extracted from: http://www.paralumun.com/issuesprofile.htm.

COERCION BY A PREDATOR

Coercion is the practice of compelling a person to involuntarily behave in a certain way (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. Coercion may typically involve the actual infliction of physical or psychological harm in order to enhance the credibility of a threat. The threat of further harm may then lead to the cooperation or obedience of the person being coerced. This definition of coercion is imbedded in the UVA definition of Sexual Assault.

At UVA, several of the male undergraduate students accused of committing sexual assault during the past few years demonstrate "predatory behavior". Many of these males have been identified to the Administration and accused multiple times of committing rape. Excerpts from a recent public on-line blog postings by a UVA male (accused of committing rape) show that he is a predator – he and his roommates have one goal - to go out at night, drink, and target drunk women for sex. None of his blogs talk about passion, romance, or even foreplay - only predatory bar behavior, the physical act of sex (which fits the description of "power assertive rapist" above), and comments that they never see the women again.

Move out day in Charlottesville …We have packed up our boxes and … we four agree that we should spend the night in Charlottesville and party at the local bar, The Biltmore our end goal is to meet up with … 4 girls ... So we walk, we are pretty inebriated but we have been given good intel that they are going to be there. So we... walk in and immediately head to the front of the bar and order 4 Jaeger shots and make a salute to college. Downing the shots they order 4 mixed drinks of Beam and Coke (the signature drink of the group). In doing so, XXX catches the eye of one of the (girls) … After last call the four girls invite (the four males) back to their sorority house to dance [excuse used to get the invite back to the house]…. Everyone hooks up ….The guys get up early that morning and drive away from Charlottesville [never to see them again].

And the very Next Day….

Arriving home in No VA … Staying in a hotel ... We got the party going with our signature drink 4 shots of Jaeger…We are all above 6 feet so we can see over the group of girls and a young brunette catches my eye … So I pull my pattened PLI move (Person of Least Interest). I then use tools from the Metro Sexual Guide to Style and continue to briefly flirt with her but look at myself in the mirror continuously… I then began to show more interest … We then take more drinks and head to dance floor .…We did what you do in a hotel and I left the next morning and never called her again….As a side note I am getting ready to break up with my girlfriend so I can start doing this thing legit.

Each blog entry talks about a conquest. All entries involve alcohol. These UVA grads empower themselves by bragging about these conquests in the online blogs for the public to read as if they were validation of manhood. The young men’s behavior, which was condoned during the college years by the UVA Administration (the place where it could have been identified and stopped) now spills in to the workplace of a large DC firm. Predatory behavior is deviant behavior. They don't "grow out of it". It must be treated professionally.

This website has not even delved into the reality that these predators may be spreading sexually transmitted diseases because of the large number of sexual partners they've had. With an increase of media coverage about HPV and cervical cancer, why aren't males accused of sexual assault automatically tested for STD's? Males exhibit no symptoms as HPV carriers; it can only be detected through a blood test. Why shouldn't women know if their attacker is a carrier of HPV?

This website was created to inform Parents, Students, and Alumni about the University of Virginia's ineffective response to the crime of sexual assault.
Support "ZERO TOLERANCE FOR RAPE!"

Any UVA sexual assault victims, regardless of year of graduation, who have questions or believe their cases were addressed in a manner that conflicts with the Clery Act and are willing to speak with DOE Investigators about the disciplinary hearing process should contact the webmaster.
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Site Information last updated on 6 May 2010.