iMfCTMSsMEIuil
By
Cheryl
McFadden
This
is
a
continuation
from
our
series
on
sexual
assault.
The
information
provided
in
this
article
is
not
meant
to
replace
legal
advice.
It
is
to
provide
victims
of
sexual
assault
with
information
about
the
legal
system.
How
do
I
get
help
right
away?
Call
the
police
Go
to
the
hospital
Call
a
sexual
assault
center
Write
down
everything
that
has
happened
to
you
You're
hurt
and
you
probably
feel
alone.
You
need
to
take
care
of
yourself.
You
may
feel
dirty
and
want
to
change
and
shower.
You
could
be
destroying
evidence
if
you
do
this.
Get
help
first.
The
police:
The
police
will
take
you
to
the
hospital
right
away.
Tell
the
police
where
you
are
and
what
happened.
They
should
respond
quickly.
This
is
the
first
step
in
the
legal
process.
They
have
a
duty
to
report
the
crime
and
find
who
did
it.
They
will
want
to
take
a
police
report
from
you.
You
may
find
some
of
their
questioning
embarrassing
or
insensitive.
They
are
remaining
uninvolved,
theirmain
objective
is
to
enforce
the
law
and
find
the
person
who
assaulted
you.
The
police
will
want
to
collect
all
the
evidence
they
can.
This
is
why
you
must
not
clean
yourself,
especially
in
the
areas
of
attack.
Don't
wash
your
hands,
comb
your
hair.
Do
not
take
any
medicine
or
drugs
to
help
calm
you.
A
statement
is
a
record
taken
from
you
by
the
police
of
your
complaint
It
will
include
everything
you
can
remember.
It
is
the
basis
of
the
police
investigation.
The
police-will
need
to
know:
whathappened,
where,
when,
if
you
know
who
attacked
you,
your
descriptionof
the
attacker,
whether
a
weapon
was
used,
what
you
said
apd
jikfe
and
what
the
attacker
saiEaai
did.
Some
of
these
questions"may
seem
weird
and
embarrassing.
Try
to
keep
in
mind
that
the
police
need
the
details,
details
that
may
seem
unimportant
to
you.
If
you
do
not
understand
why
you
are
being
asked
a
certain
question,
ask
the
police
officer
why
they
want
to
know.
Write
down
some
of
the
questions,
talk
to
someone
about
them,
they
may
be
able
to
tell
you
why
the
police
asked
them.
You
will
be
asked
to
read
your
statement
and
then
sign
it.
Be
sure
and
take
down
your
case
number,
the
officer
in
charge
of
your
case
and
the
phone
number.
You
may
want
to
call
later
and
find
out
how
the
case
is
going,
or
you
may
remember
something
that
may
be
of
use
to
the
police
officer.
If
you
do
not
know
the
person
who
attacked
you,
then
you
may
have
to
look
at
mug
shots,
vie
w
a
line
up
of
people
who's
features
may
be
similar
to
that
of
your
attacker,
or
describe
the
features
to
an
artist
who
will
make
a
drawing
from
your
de
Sexual
Assault
and
the
Law
scription.
The
hospital:
The
emergency
ward
at
the
hospital
is
always
open.
It
can
be
a
busy
place.
So
make
sure
that
the
nurse
understands
what
has
happened,
be
firm
even
if
you
have
no
obvious
injuries.
You
will
be
taken
care
of
as
soon
as
possible.
During
the
physical
examination
the
doctor
can
find
and
treat
and
injuries
that
you
may
have,
be
sure
and
tell
the
doctor
of
any
sore
spots.
Inordertopreservetheevidence
of
the
sexual
assault
for
court,
the
doctor
will
preform
different
tests.
Each
sample
is
labelled
and
sent
to
special
police
laboratories.
The
results
from
these
forensic
tests
may
helpful
in
identifying
the
suspect,
providing
evidence
of
the
amount
of
force
used
during
the
assault
and
determining
the
time
of
the
assault
The
police
may
need
to
keep
the
clothes
you
are
wearing
as
evidence,
so
have
someone
bring
you
a
change.
Your
clothes
may
not
likely
be
returned
to
you
before
the
trial.
Photographs
may
be
taken
at
the
hospital
or
the
police
station
for
the
purpose
of
evidence.
This
can
be
humiliating,
it
might
help
in
having
someone
with
you.
Sexual
assault
center:
You
may
want
to
call
the
crisis
center
or
the
sexual
assault
center.
Trained
counsellors
are
usually
there
to
give
you
support
24
hours
a
day.
They
have
experience
and
can
give
you
the
support
and
the
answers
you
need.
Write
down
what
happened
to
you:
At
this
time
you
probably
feel
as
if
you
will
never
forget
a
single
detail
of
what
just
happened
to
you.
It
should
be
clear
in
your
mind.
Write
down
everything
you
remember.
For
the
these
three
reasons:
it
can
help
you
deal
with
your
emotions
and
help
you
sort
everything
out,
if
the
case
goes
to
trial
it
will
help
you
remember
what
has
happened,
and
something
you
may
write
down
may
be
helpful
in
the
police
investigation.
Sexual
assault
and
the
law
Howdoes
law
define
sexual
assault?
Assault
is
the
intentional
use
of
force
on
another
person
against
their
will.
It
is
also
an
assault
to
threaten
to
use
force.
If
a
person
tried
to
assault
you
but
was
prevented
from
doing
so,
then
they
can
be
charged
with
attempted
assault
or
attempted
sexual
assault.
There
are
three
levels
of
sexual
assault:
First
level
sexual
assault
(Section
27
1
of
the
criminal
code);
A
person
may
be
charged
with
sexual
assault
if
you
are
forced
to
kiss,
fondle,
or
have
intercourse
with
the
person,
or
they
touched
you
in
a
sexual
way
without
your
consent
(no
sign
of
physical
abuse
or
injury).
Second
level
sexual
assault
(Section
272
of
the
criminal
code);
A
person
may
be
charged
with
sexual
assault
with
a
weapon,
threats
to
a
third
party
or
causing
bodily
harm
if
you
were
sexually
assaulted
while
they
used
or
threatened
to
use
a
weapon.
If
they
threatened
to
hurt
someone
else.
They
physically
hurt
you,
or
were
with
another
person
who
assaulted
you
also.
Third
level
sexual
assault
(Section
273
of
the
criminal
code);
A
person
may
be
charged
with
aggravated
sexual
assault
if
while
you
were
assaulted
you
were
wounded,
crippled,
disfigured,
brutally
beaten
or
your
life
was
in
danger.
A
person
can
be
charged
with
several
crimes,
if
more
than
one
crime
is
committed,
when
you
are
assaulted.
For
example
you
are
kidnapped
and
taken
to
someone's
apartment
and
then
sexually
assaulted.
Criminal
code
sections
on
sexual
assault:
The
defense
can
not
use
your
sexual
past
against
you.
Section
276.(1)
states
that.
.
."no
evidence
shall
be
adduced
by
or
on
behalf
of
the
suspect
concerning
the
sexual
activity
of
the
complainant
with
any
person
other
than
the
accused.
.
."
Corroboration
of
the
victim's
testimony
is
no
longer
required
for
a
conviction
for
sexual
assault(Section
274)
In
the
past
a
spouse
could
not
be
charged
for
sexual
assault.
Under
section
278,
a
husband
or
wife
may
be
charged
under
sections
271
,
272,
273.
What
evidence
proves
that
I
did
not
consent?
Your
consent
to
sexual
activity
must
be
given
freely.
You
did
not
consent
if
you
were
afraid
to
fight
back
or
you
froze
with
fear.
You
did
not
necessarily
consent
to
intercourse
if
you
held
hands,
kissed
or
fondled
someone.
No
one
has
the
right
to
force
you
to
engage
in
any
sexual
activity
against
your
will.
Whether
you
consented
to
the
act
or
not
will
be
an
important
issue
at
the
trial.
Your
consent
is
not
freely
given
if
you
had
no
choice
but
to
do
what
the
person
said.
If
you
did
fight
back
then
you
will
not
be
charged
with
assault.
The
law
allows
you
to
use
the
force
that
is
necessary
to
fight
off
an
attack,
it
is
self-defense.
Lack
of
resistance
does
not
mean
that
you
consented
to
the
assault.
For
the
court
to
convict
a
person
it
must
decide
two
questions,
it
must
believe
that
you
did
not
consent,
and
it
must
believe
that
the
suspect
knew
that
you
were
not
consenting.
The
accused
The
arrest:
Once
the
police
decide
that
there
is
enough
evidence
they
will
lay
charges
and
make
an
arrest
against
the
accused.
The
accused
may
be
kept
in
jail
until
a
court
appearance.
This
court
appearance
usually
takes
place
within
a
few
hours
of
the
arrest.
At
this
court
appearance
the
judge
decides
if
the
accused
should
be
kept
in
jail
until
the
next
court
hearing.
Under
Canadian
law,
a
person
is
innocent
until
proven
guilty.
Because
of
this
presumption
there
must
be
a
good
reason
for
keeping
the
accused
in
jail.
Unless
the
court
finds
that
there
are
very
good
reasons
for
keeping
the
accused
in
jail,
the
accused
must
be
let
go.
The
court
may
put
conditions
on
the
release
of
the
accused.
They
may
ask
that
bail
be
deposited
so
in
this
way
the
accused
will
come
back
for
courstraining
"No
one
has
the
right
to
force
you
to
engage
in
any
sexual
activity
against
your
will!'
order
or
a
no
contact
order
may
be
placed
on
the
accused.
The
order
forbids
the
accused
from
calling
you,
going
to
your
place
of
employment,
and
your
home.
If
the
accused
doesn't
obey
the
order
then
tell
the
police.
He
will
be
arrested
and
his
release
conditions
may
change.
If
there
is
not
enough
evidence
to
convict
the
accused
then
the
charges
may
be
dropped.
If
this
is
the
case,
and
you
want
to
go
to
court
anyway,
then
you
may
have
to
seek
legal
counsel
outside
of
the
police
and
crown
counsel.
You
will
have
to
go
to
a
justice
or
an
officer
of
the
court
and
present
your
information
in
writing
uder
oath.
It
is
most
likely
though
that
if
the
police
or
crown
counsel
won't
prosecute
then
neither
will
the
courts.
Before
the
Trial
The
preliminary
hearing:
The
preliminary
hearing
will
occur
a
few
months
after
the
charges
have
been
laid
against
the
accused.
The
purpose
of
this
trial
is
to
see
if
crown
counsel
has
enough
evidence
to
justify
a
trial.
If
there
is
not
enough
evidence
to
go
to
trial
then
the
charges
will
be
dropped.
Sometimes
the
preliminary
hearing
does
not
go
as
planned.
In
some
cases
the
accused
will
plead
guilty,
and
in
other
cases
the
defense
lawyer
has
decided
not
to
hear
the
evidence
and
plans
to
go
directly
to
a
trial.
The
crown
counsel:
The
province
is
the
one
prosecuting
the
accused.
He
is
not
your
lawyer.
You
are
a
witness
for
the
crown
counsel.
The
crown
counsel
will
probably
want
to
see
you
before
the
trial.
The
crown
will
probably
discuss
your
statement
with
you,
go
over
the
court
procedure,
go
over
the
evidence
with
you,
and
give
you
an
idea
of
what
the
kinds
of
questions
the
defense
will
cross
examine
you
with.
If
you
do
not
understand
what
the
crown
counsel
is
saying
then
you
should
ask
them
to
explain
themselves.