Prosecution and Sexual Assault

Q: What happens to the people being prosecuted for sexual assault other than it affecting their careers?

Ask an Advocate: So there's a big myth that somehow being accused of sexual assault "ruins" a person's life.  We can see for ourselves that is simply not true.  A cursory look at the statistics from RAINN shows us that for every 1000 rapes, only 63 perpetrators will ever be arrested and only 13 will even get referred to prosecution.  That's 1.3% of rapists who will have any mention of previous assaults in their legal file.

That's a really, really small number.  Once you factor in that false reports are vanishingly rare - lower than false reports for grand theft auto - and you can see that being accused isn't likely to impact your day even if you're guilty.  

Now for those 13 people referred to prosecution, depending on the severity of the crime, how straightforward prosecution would be, and what state you live in, the long-term effects can vary wildly.  Some states require anyone convicted of any sex crime (including indecent exposure) to register as a sex offender.  If you have a powerful lawyer (and/or you're white) that's less likely to come into play.  

Seven of those 13 prosecuted cases will lead to felony convictions, which means you'll have to explain that in a lot of job interviews and some government work will be unavailable to you.  However there are several places that help people with felony convictions to get jobs.  

In the end, even with the seriousness of the consequences for those people who are reported, caught, and found guilty of sexual assault, the reality is that the consequences for survivors are much higher - both statistically and in emotional, physical, financial costs - than those for perpetrators.  

If you're interested in helping people who have experienced sexual violence, check out our volunteer page!

Long-term effects of abuse and how to beat the odds

Q: What are the long term effects of abuse?

AskAnAdvocate: This article from ThinkProgress.org talks about many of the long-term effects abuse has on survivors and their children.  The most important things to note are that people who experience family violence are more likely to become depressed, develop PTSD and other anxiety disorders, and also 15x more likely than the average population to use alcohol or other substances to cope with what they have been/are going through.
Also it's worth pointing out that while some people do go on to be abusive themselves, more often people who experience family violence early go on to face violence/abuse again.

There is some good news, however.  Emerging research shows that young people who can find one stable, supportive adult in their lives - a person who acts as a sort of champion and mentor for the young person - can overcome many of these long-term effects.

Not all of us can have mentors that look like this:

But really, any stable adult that you feel safe with and whom you'd like to be more like is a good choice.  Some schools even have specific mentor programs set up to help Teens and young people have a better shot at success on their own terms.  You can check out Moscow High School's program right here to apply or to volunteer!  

Just how many people has ATVP helped?

Q: How many people has ATVP helped?

AskAnAdvocate: Since our founding in 1980, ATVP has stayed incredibly busy.  Thanks to the advent of affordable personal computing power (and grants for technology), we've kept pretty good records for the last decade or so.  From 2005 to 2015, ATVP was able to work with over 3,600 individuals and their families on an on-going basis, in addition to fielding over 30,000 calls on our hotlines.  

Once you factor in our prevention and presentation work - and we did over 560 presentations and outreaches last year alone - the straight forward answer is somewhere between "a lot" and "a whole lot."  

Despite all of our continued efforts, we always need more volunteers and more community allies to help hold the people causing harm accountable.  

For ideas of how to help out, click here.  We'd love to have you aboard!