If you have experienced sexual assault, you have the right to report - or not report - the incident to Holland College and community agencies such as police or healthcare workers. You can report formally, which will start an investigation, or informally, which means that you are sharing the information to receive support and services, and to discuss your options.

Who you talk to informally is your choice. You may choose to tell a Holland College staff member or counsellor just for support, this does not mean that you have to report it to police or press criminal charges.

If the individual who committed the assault is a risk to other people, Holland College or the police may need to know to prevent them from harming someone else, so it's important to keep that in mind when you are deciding what to do.

REPORTING AND RAPE KIT OPTIONS

A rape kit is a collection of items used to gather and preserve evidence by a health care provider following a sexual assault. If you are thinking about reporting and having a rape kit done, you should do so as soon as possible at a hospital, although even after 72 hours some evidence may still be collectible from a person’s body and clothing. You may be asked by a health care provider if you want to report to police, but you are not required to report if you do not want to.

If you are not sure that you want to report an assault, you have time to think about it. You can have the evidence collected anonymously and stored up to one year. This is called the Third Option. The Third Option means that survivors of sexual violence who go to an Island hospital emergency room can agree to have evidence collected and stored anonymously, giving them more time to consider making a complaint to police while they receive immediate medical attention and support. 

When a person requests and consents to the Third Option service, health care providers use a trauma-informed, patient-centered approach to safely collect forensic evidence. Law enforcement partners transport the anonymous evidence to the RCMP L Division, where the kits will be stored anonymously for up to one year. More details on how this works will be explained to you by the Enhanced Emergency Sexual Assault (EESAS) team at the hospital.

Understanding Your Options

Anyone who has experienced sexual assault or sexual violence has the right to:

• be treated with dignity and respect,
• be believed,
• be informed about on- and off-campus services and resources,
• decide whether or not to access available services and to choose those services they feel will be most beneficial,
• decide whether to report to campus security and/or local police,
• have an on-campus investigation with the institution's full cooperation,
• have a safety plan, and
• have reasonable and necessary actions taken to prevent further unwanted contact with the alleged perpetrator(s).

• Disclosing
  to the College
• Formal Reporting
  to the College
• Reporting to
  the Police

Things to consider

• Reporting the sexual assault as soon as possible after it has happened is important so that medical evidence can be collected. If you are not sure whether or not you want to press charges, PEI Emergency Department health care providers can obtain the evidence and it can be held for up to one year.
• If you suspect that you have been drugged, it is important to attend an emergency department at a hospital, as drug testing needs to be done quickly. Take a sample of your urine if possible and bring it with you.
• Think about preserving evidence: don't bathe, shower, douche, or wash your sheets or clothing if you think you may want to press charges.
• If you decide to press charges, the police will ask you to undergo a medical examination by a specially trained medical team and have injury photos taken. This can all be done at an emergency department at a local hospital.
• Police will interview you and ask you questions about the assault.
• When charges are laid, you will be required to testify in court, but you will be supported by a counsellor or someone from Victim Services.