Center for Counseling and Mental Health Wellness

If You Are a Victim of Sexual Violence

Go to a safe place immediately.

• This may be a friend’s room, the police station, the hospital, or another place where you feel safe. It is important to find a place where you are safe from harm.

Call someone to be with you.

• Call a friend, family member, or someone else you can trust to be with you. You can call Tennessee Tech Police at 911 or 931-372-3234 (on campus) who will then contact a campus advocate to be with you.
• Call Tech ASPIRES (931) 372-6566. For afterhours, please call the Eagle Eye Crisis Hotline (855-206-8997) and mention Tech ASPIRES. 

You may choose to contact the police.

• By calling the police at 911, you are reporting the crime that was committed against you and seeking police protection.
• Remember if you report to the police, the decision to continue with the legal proceedings is determined by the evidence collected and the District Attorney.

Preserve physical evidence.

• Do not shower, bathe, douche, or otherwise clean yourself. If possible, do not urinate. Do not eat, drink liquids, smoke, or brush teeth if oral contact took place. If you must change your clothes, save all clothing you were wearing at the time of the assault.
• Do not disturb anything in the area where the assault occurred. If you have changed your clothes, take those you were wearing at the time of the assault to the hospital or Genesis House in a paper bag (plastic may destroy important evidence).

Get medical attention.

• Physical safety and medical attention are of primary importance. You could be physically injured, become pregnant, or have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease.
• Medical attention is available at Genesis House Sexual Response Center, 931-526-5197 or 800-707-5197, or Cookeville Regional Medical Center, 528-2541.
• If done promptly, a medical examination can obtain important evidence should you decide to prosecute.
• Write down as much as you can remember about the assailant and the assault.
• If you decide to report or press charges, you will have the details to give the police.

Seek counseling.

• Whether or not you report the assault or prosecute, a trained counselor can help you with the emotional trauma of an assault. Confidential emergency and follow-up counseling are available through the Tennessee Tech Center for Counseling and Mental Health Wellness, 931-372-3331, and Genesis House Sexual Assault Response Center, 931-526-5197 or 800-707-5197.

Reporting the assault.

• The decision about whether to report a rape or other sexual assault to University officials and/or police is a personal and individual decision. There are no easy answers regarding whether you should report to university officials, law enforcement, or file criminal charges. It is in your best interest to have someone you trust who can support you through the decision-making process.