Undercover Detective from New Jersey shares details of what sexual assault victims may experience within the first few hours of being violated. Each state has different guidelines when it comes down to reporting an incident. For the State of New Jersey, there is a Sexual Assault Response Team, that will come to the aid of the victim.

It is strongly encouraged that the victim does not bathe after the incident occurs as they can risk the chance of washing away or diluting the DNA evidence that will be retrieved when the Rape Kit is performed. During the screening process, a special nurse will screen the victim and offer additional assistance such as putting the victim in contact with a rape victim advocate. It is the advocate’s job to help the victim cope by allowing the victim to express him or herself. It is also the advocate’s job to make suggestions the victim to get screen for justice to be served.

In order for the screening process to be a success, the survivor must be in total control. After being violated, the victim may feel a sense of helplessness.

“Articles of clothing is not excluded from being held as evidence” stated the Detective.

The goal of the rape kit and the statement given by the victim is to gather as much evidence as possible to catch the suspect. “This is information will be useful when it is taken to trial” explained the Detective.

According to Everyday Feminism, Rape Culture is on the rise. Every day it is as if people are taking sexual assault very lightly, even the judicial system. Recently, Brock Turner was featured in textbooks as the “Face of Rape.” Brock Turner was an athlete on the swim team at Stanford University. He sexually assaulted a woman who was under the influence and was punished to serve six months in prison. Turner went on to only serve half of his sentence. The verdict caused an on-going outrage from those who want equality and felt that Turner’s punishment was not as severe as the crime itself.

More than often, victims of sexual assault will not report the incident because they are afraid of the black-lash or to be blamed. There a many misconceptions and false light remarks when it comes to being a survivor of rape, “you asked for it.” Remarks like these are the reason why most rapes go unreported, thus creating a margin of the number of rapes that goes unreported. The fear of being called a liar is one of the reasons why many rapes go unreported.

In incidents that the survivors decide to stand up and speak out, they pose the risk of being met with the same consequences of Popstar Kesha. Perhaps Kesha went about her case the wrong way as she felt she was violated and was a victim of a hate crime. The Judge ultimately ruled that “every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime.” He is correct in this verdict. However, this does not change the fact that Kesha felt violated by someone close to her. After all, a large majority of people are sexually assaulted by someone they know.

If you or someone you know have been sexually assaulted, speak up and get the assistance you or s/he may need. It is never too late to get help; whether it is legal, or counseling. Take back control and make a difference.