What to Do

If You Are Sexually Assaulted

Call the Sexual Assault Services Coordinator at 412-648-7930. She will provide counseling and help you obtain medical care, personal support, and academic and legal assistance. What you share with the coordinator is confidential.
Get medical attention. All survivors of sexual assault are encouraged to seek medical attention for their own physical health and to preserve evidence. Even if there is no physical injury, survivors should be tested for sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and internal trauma.

To preserve evidence, do not shower, douche, or change clothes or bedding before you seek medical attention. Also, if oral contact took place, do not brush your teeth, smoke or eat.

Female survivors of sexual assault should go to the emergency room at Magee-Womens Hospital, at Forbes & Halket Streets in Oakland.
Male survivors of sexual assault should go to the emergency room at Presbyterian University Hospital, at DeSoto & O'Hara Streets in Oakland.

Even if you do not want to pursue legal action, preserving evidence keeps your options open in case you later change your mind. Report the crime to the campus police: 412-624-2121 or 412-648-2121, or 811 on campus. You have the right to refuse to press charges even if you file the report.

If the assailant is a University of Pittsburgh student, you may file a report with the coordinator of the University Student Judicial System at 412-648-7918. Any University official or member of the University community may institute a proceeding against a student by filing a complaint through this office.

You may also want to contact someone you trust–a close friend or a resident assistant–to be with you and support you.

Consider seeing a counselor with special expertise in working with sexual assault survivors. On campus, call the Sexual Assault Services Coordinator at 412-648-7930 or the University Counseling Center at 412-648-7930. Counseling is also available through Pittsburgh Action Against Rape at 412-431-5665 or 1-866-END-RAPE and the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime at 412-392-8582.

The University of Pittsburgh Police

What happens when you contact the University police?

The University of Pittsburgh Police Department has trained, sensitive personnel who are experienced in handling cases of sexual assault. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, we urge you to contact your campus police immediately at 412-624-2121, 412-648-2121, or 811 on campus. The following is a scenario of what the Pitt police generally do for a survivor of sexual assault.

When a sexual assault is reported to the police, an officer is sent immediately to the scene, where general information is obtained from the survivor and witnesses. The officer encourages the survivor to go to the hospital and either provides transport or radios the medics to respond. The initial officer arriving on the scene will prepare a report of the incident.
A second officer arrives on the scene to safeguard evidence and list possible witnesses. A University of Pittsburgh Police Department field supervisor will oversee the preliminary investigation until a member of the Investigative Section arrives.
A University of Pittsburgh Police Department investigator is contacted. This investigator meets with the survivor either on the scene or at the hospital. The investigator interviews the survivor, assists the survivor in contacting the appropriate support resources (if desired), and prepares an investigative report.
Investigative reports prepared by the UPPD are confidential. In compliance with the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1992, some information regarding the nature of the incident, general location, and non-specific details will be released to the University community. Names of sexual assault survivors are not released to the University community.
If the survivor of a sexual assault wishes to prosecute, investigators will proceed with prosecution via the criminal court system and/or Judicial Board proceedings through the University. This includes case preparation, maintenance of evidence, witness interviews, and testimony in court. The investigator will accompany the survivor through all stages of prosecution.
If the survivor of a sexual assault has filed a report, but does not wish to prosecute, then a report of the incident is maintained on file. If the assailant's identity is unknown, the investigators will continue their investigation to identify the assailant for future reference.