Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of women and 2.5% of men experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
– David Cantor, Bonnie Fisher, Susan Chibnall, Reanna Townsend, et. al. Association of American Universities (AAU), Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct (January 17, 2020).
What can we do to support fellow students?
Roughly 1 in 10 women will experience this during law school.
Last year, law students set out to create a group designed to promote safety, support, and empowerment for survivors of domestic and sexual violence within the halls of ABIII. Our goal was, and continues to be, the creation of a long-lasting network of support survivors can utilize throughout our legal careers, starting here.
Who is in This Group?
Someone to listen to you, objectively and without judgment. Someone who believes you. Someone who knows options, resources and supports available to you. Someone who will empower you to make the best decisions for yourself.
Interested in Joining? Contact: Cierra Anderson cierra.anderson@umontana.edu
Other Resources for UM Students:
Crime Victim Advocate (CVA) Program (406) 830-3830
Helps sexual assault victims understand options and obtain Temporary Orders of Protection*, provides information on crime victim’s compensation, and assists sexual assault victims through the judicial system, including checking on the status of individual cases. Crime Victim Advocates also helps victims of violent crime and stalking. (*A TOP is a court order signed by a judge that prohibits someone who scares you from coming to your house or workplace and from having any contact with you.)
Women Student victims are less likely to report.
Only 20% of women student victims, age 18-24, report to law enforcement.
32% of non-student women the same age do make a report.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Rape and Sexual Victimization Among College-Aged Females, 1995-2013 (2014).
First STEP (406) 329-5776
A specially trained nurse or nurse practitioner will meet clients/assault victims at a private, safe clinic. First Step examiner will provide comprehensive medical assessment, evidence collection, lab tests and medication as needed, and education/information. First Step provides on-site access to community advocates and law enforcement as requested. DNA evidence may be collected up to five (5) days after a sexual assault but is most likely to yield positive results the sooner it is collected.
Only 1 in 5 college-aged women survivors received assistance from a victim services agency.
https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence
Student Advocacy Resource Center SARC
All services provided by SARC are Free and Confidential. Your communication with SARC is confidential. SARC services are comprehensive and they actively listen, believe in, assist, and support their clients. Based upon your decisions and choices, they also provide referrals and connections, within the justice, medical, and social service systems. Law enforcement, University administration, faculty, and/or family members will not be contacted by SARC unless you request them to do so. Additionally, you have the option of being anonymous in your interaction with SARC.
Missoula County Attorney’s Office (406) 258-4737
The Missoula County Attorney’s Office reviews law enforcement investigations and decides whether or not to prosecute an alleged offender with a crime. This office charges a case when county prosecutors have probable cause and a reasonable probability of prevailing at trial; that is, when there is enough evidence to prove all elements of the crime(s) beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. The prosecutors of the Missoula County Attorney’s Office answer questions about what to expect when a case is prosecuted, consult with victims of crime about plea agreements and trial strategy, and prepare victims and their supporters for testifying in court at evidentiary hearings, trials and sentencing hearings.
5.8% of students have experienced stalking since entering college.
https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence
UM’s Title IX Coordinator and Director of Equal Opportunity, Alicia Arant (406) 243-5617
Arant addresses sex discrimination and holds perpetrators of sexual crimes accountable through a formal investigation process or an informal resolution involving training, mediation and accommodations. A Title IX investigation only results in University action, not legal consequences.
Victims are not victims, not some fragile, sorrowful aftermath. Victims are survivors, and survivors are going to be doing a hell of a lot more than surviving.
Chanel Miller, https://www.glamour.com/story/women-of-the-year-emily-doe
Criminal Injustice System 