If you have experienced a form of harassment (sexual misconduct) such as sexual assault, please consider your options. Even if you do not believe you have urgent medical needs, it is crucial that you obtain medical attention as soon as possible after experiencing a sexual assault or other forms of harassment (sexual misconduct) to determine the possibilities of physical injury and to prevent or treat sexually transmitted infections. You deserve immediate care, and you have both on- and off-campus resources available to you.

If you have questions about your medical options, you can discuss them with the following resources:

• Title IX Office Staff at Arkansas Tech University
• Counselors or nurses in the Arkansas Tech University Health and Wellness Center: 479-968-0329 (8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday)
• Ozark Rape Crisis Center: 800-818-1189 (24-hour hotline)
  
  

Off-campus medical care

Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Russellville and Mercy Hospital in Ozark offer many services 24/7 for survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence such as:

• Prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy prevention.
• Forensic evidence collection such as DNA and injury documentation (see below for more information).
• Screening for the presence of sedative drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB (date-rape drugs).

Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center: 479-968-6211
Mercy Hospital in Ozark, AR: 479-667-4138

On-campus medical care

The Health and Wellness Center at Arkansas Tech University can help survivors of sexual misconduct sort through their feelings and begin the recovery process. The professionals at Counseling Services are trained to provide crisis intervention on short term and emergency issues. Counseling Services can also provide referral services for outside providers, law enforcement, and Title IX. Staff in the Health and Wellness Center can provide:

• Counseling services (free for all students)
• Sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment
• Women's health services

Forensic evidence collection

If you choose to have forensic evidence collected at a hospital, it is important to do so within 96 hours of an assault, but the sooner you can be examined, the better. Even if you do not want to file charges or report to ATU or police at the time, by having evidence collected, you keep your options open. Having evidence collected does not mean you have to want to press charges or even make up your mind about what you want to do. It means that if you decide a few days, weeks, or months later that you want to report the assault to ATU and/or law enforcement, the physical evidence has been preserved. Exams performed in the 96-hour timeframe are paid for by the state of Arkansas

Some general guidelines for evidence collection:

• You may want to shower, bathe, brush your teeth, smoke, change your clothes, or clean the area where the assault occurred. Try to avoid these things before having evidence collected if possible, but an evidence collection kit can still be completed if you have already done any or all of these things.
• If you have already changed clothes, take what you were wearing at the time of the assault to the hospital in a paper (not plastic) bag.
• Save any forms of communication or documents that might be helpful in an investigation. This may include text messages, emails, messages on social media like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, pictures, etc.
• If you are unsure about the identity of your assailant, write down everything you are able to remember about that person, including a physical description and any information you remember about the person’s identity.