Administration gives rape kits no funding

Despite pledging to add funding for sexual assault examinations to the "highest needs and priorities" agenda of the 2004-2005 budget, the University has decided not to provide funding to perform rape examinations.

University Health Services declined to ask for the kits. "In the budget proposal that was set forth by [Chief Medical Officer] Dr. [Daniel] Silverman, the rape kit was not of the highest priority," said Janet Dickerson, vice president of student life.

Instead, the University prioritized adding personnel and direct support to the counseling center, she said, stating that there is currently a two to three week wait to see a therapist at McCosh Health Center.

According to Dickerson, the University Medical Center at Princeton is in the process of becoming certified in performing "rape kits" — a procedure in which evidence of a sexual assault is obtained.

The availability of the procedure at the local hospital lessened the priority for the University to purchase rape investigation tools, Dickerson said.

Nancy Panarella, the emergency room director at the medical center, said the hospital currently has a number of rape assessment trained nurses and is in the process of applying to the prosecutor's office to be a designated center for rape examinations.

The application process is in the beginning stages and Panarella said that it is unknown how long it will take for the hospital to be certified.

Under the current procedure, an assaulted student must make a 40-minute car ride, accompanied by health services staff, to a hospital in New Brunswick if she wants to be examined.

"Being able to do rape examinations in Princeton would be ideal, so that students don't have to travel so far," said Thema Bryant-Davis, director of the sexual health office.

Although the University has decided not to provide the funding to purchase a colposcope — a $30,000 digital device which takes pictures of microscopic cuts and bruises which are used to investigate rape victims — they did arrange for a number of McCosh nurses to be trained in performing the procedure last fall, Bryant-Davis said.

The nurses were trained so they would have experience in the field, not necessarily be able to perform the procedure on campus, Dickerson said.

On Thursday, in order to kick off Sexual Violence and Awareness Month, a panel that included Public Safety officers and UHS staff gathered to clarify the University's sexual assault response processes.

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The University is currently working to train public safety officers to perform sexual assault investigations, said Steven Healy, director of public safety.

Public safety plans to train one officer before the end of the term, Healy said. Eventually, he would like to train enough officers to have a sexual assault trained investigator on duty on each shift.

"We don't want to have to bring in outside sources — people that the students don't know," Healy said. Having in-house rape investigators is part of his goal of gaining students' trust and making them feel more secure on campus.

"If we can make individuals feel more comfortable and gain their trust, we will be more able to act as their advocates," he said.

Currently, there are only a few recorded cases of rape on campus each year. However, Healy stated that nationwide, 70 to 80 percent of all rapes go unreported, a number he hopes to see decrease.