Reporting Sexual Assault To Police
It is important that survivors are offered a support person from a survivor agency who can help guide and support them through the reporting process, and to provide up-to-date, region specific information on how the police operate, what services are available and the potential benefits and consequences of making a report.
Timelines for Making a Report
If a person wants to report a recent sexual assault (within the last 7 days) to the police, then it is ideal for them to not eat, drink, smoke, use the bathroom or shower before a forensic medical examination is completed in order to preserve any potential evidence. However, if a person is distressed at not having a drink/food/shower etc, then providing those should be the priority.
If drink spiking has occurred, toxicology testing for detecting the drug in a person's system needs to be done as soon as possible, as it is usually only accurate if completed within 2 - 12 hours, depending on the drug. It needs to be completed by a medical professional and instigated by a doctor who is caring for the person. This can usually be done at an emergency department, an after-hours clinic or the survivor’s normal general practice.
Police Procedure
Police find it helpful to be provided with:
The name of the survivor
What they said happened (it could be as little as three words).
A way of contacting them
A description of the person who did the sexual assault (when a stranger or their name is unknown).
The date, time and the name of the person(s) who was told.
Any evidence collected in paper bags. Paper helps preserve evidence better than other materials.
The following information is general guidance only and intended to provide a survivor an indication of what they can reasonably expect if they choose to make a report to the police.
Preliminary Interview
A police detective will ask what, when, where and who questions. This can happen at a place of the survivor’s choosing and involve whichever support people they would like. These can be as short as fifteen minutes or as long as a couple of hours.
In theory, the police will not discriminate against a person or press charges against them when they make a report of sexual assault or drink spiking that occurred while they were also under the influences of illegal drugs. In these situations, the sexual assault or drink spiking against that person is considered the most serious issue.
Forensic Medical Examination
A survivor can get a forensic medical examination by specific doctors and nurses trained in this area, if the sexual assault occurred less than seven days prior. Different types of medical evidence last different times, so if the survivor wants an examination it is important to get this done as soon as possible once they are out of a state of shock (if applicable).
Forensic medication examinations may not be as conclusive or straight forward as people expect. Most commonly there is no evidence, or there is evidence of sexual activity but not sexual assault. Even if there is an injury, it doesn’t always prove sexual assault as consensual sexual activity can sometimes lead to injury. However, it can result in valid evidence, and it can also have therapeutic effects such as mitigating fear of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
If a report is made within seven days, the examination will usually be completed as soon as possible, including after hours. If it is made after this period, it will be viewed as ‘historic’ and will take place during regular hours.
A ‘just in case’ forensic medical examination can also be completed if someone doesn’t know if they want to report to police yet. If this is done, the evidence is put aside for up to six months while the survivor makes a decision on whether they want police involvement. A survivor agency can offer this without, or before, contact with the police, including after hours.
Video-recorded Interview
This is usually done a few days after a preliminary interview and forensic medical examination. It will involve a video recorded interview between the survivor and a trained police interviewer, and can take a couple of hours.
The interview is led by the survivor, in whatever order with whatever included, without interruption from the interviewer. Once the survivor wraps up their account, the interviewer will ask questions to follow up and flesh out details. A detective in another room watches and listens in real time, and can prompt the police interviewer to ask certain questions.
The survivor cannot have a support person in the room with them for the video interview, but they can have someone waiting outside.
While this interview can be a very grueling process, it can be used as evidence in court.
Investigation Begins
The investigation can vary in length, and commonly takes months to be completed. If it results in an offender being charged, it usually takes at least a year between reporting an assault and the case going to trial. Unfortunately, a lack of evidence often means it never gets to court.
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