United Against Sexual Assault

Call an advocate anytime at 214-632-6588.

Advocates are trained staff available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week that will

• Provide emotional support
• Help with your personal needs
• Assist you in making decisions about
• Obtaining medical attention
• Assuring your personal safety
• Informing university officials for a disciplinary process  
• Reporting the incident to the police and legal authorities

You may speak with an advocate anonymously and from the privacy of your home. Advocates provide a safe place to be heard, and provide information about resources to address personal, medical, and safety concerns.

Upon initial contact, an advocate will:

• Provide a safe place to be heard, where an individual will not be judged
  
• Offer information about resources that the victim might use to address personal, medical, psychological, and safety concerns related to the incident.
  
• Provide guidance on procedures to be followed and resources to be contacted.
  
• Offer to make initial contacts with resource providers and to introduce victims to appropriate contact people, both on and off campus, if the victim prefers.
  
• Serve as a liaison with other members of the UniTeD project who may share more extensive knowledge of particular resources for the victim.
  
• Work to ensure a coordinated, timely and appropriate support system for the victim.

When you call a member of an advocate, tell the advocate why you called.  If you have recently been sexually assaulted, the first concern will be your safety. Let us know what you need - do you want to talk? Do you need information? Do you want to report the assault?  If you don't know what you need, we will help you figure that out.  If you wish, we can meet you on campus to speak to you personally.

You may also call an advocate if you wish to discuss an assault that occurred some time ago, or if you want to help someone you know who has been assaulted or harassed. The advocate will always leave decisions about what to do in your hands, but will encourage you to report the assault but will never insist that you do so.  Services are available to men as well as women.

1. Get medical attention immediately.

After a sexual assault, the primary medical concerns are physical injury, sexually transmitted disease, and pregnancy. While you may be given a pregnancy test at the time of the exam, an accurate pregnancy test cannot be given for several weeks. A preventive pregnancy medication can be given at the time of the exam but is effective only if taken within 24 hours of the assault.

Some physical evidence can only be obtained during a medical exam within 72 hours of an assault.

The secondary purpose of a medical examination is to collect evidence to aid in the police investigation and legal proceedings. There is physical evidence (such as the presence of sperm) that can only be obtained during a medical exam within 72 hours of the assault.

• If you decide at a later date that you would like to prosecute, the evidence will be available. Medical Center Plano and Parkland Hospitals have been certified for gathering evidence in sexual assaults.
• If you are taken to a hospital by the UT Dallas police, treatment expenses will be the responsibility of the police.
• If you are taken to the hospital by Richardson or Dallas police they will assume financial responsibility for treatment only if you file charges.
• If you go to a medical facility without the involvement of the police, treatment expenses will be your responsibility.
• If you do not have adequate financial resources or health insurance, Parkland Hospital would be financially less burdensome.

2. Preserve all physical evidence.

Do not bathe, shower, douche, use the toilet, brush your teeth, comb your hair, or change clothing if it can be avoided. If you do change clothes, place each item of clothing in a separate paper bag.

3. Report the incident to the police and/or university officials.

Reporting an assault does not mean that you must press charges or take the case to criminal trial or a university disciplinary hearing. Even if you have not decided to press charges, calling the police and going to the hospital will allow your medical needs to be cared for and will preserve the options to press charges at a later date.

University Police can be contacted by calling 972-883-2331 or dialing 911 from a campus phone.

The Dean of Students can be contacted by calling 972-883-6391.