Jada Garber, tall and confident, was entering her senior year at the University of Colorado at Boulder in when she was forced into a group that she never wanted to join. She became the one out of five women who is sexually assaulted during her time in college. The man who attacked her, Davin Burke-Reinhart, was convicted on two counts of felony sexual assault in That made him part of a much more exclusive group.
Only about 3 percent of rapists ever spend a day in jail, the Justice Department has found. What made the difference between Garber's case and thousands of others that aren't successfully prosecuted? Boulder sex crimes prosecutor Katharina Booth said Garber's case illustrates the importance of sexual assault forensic exams, often referred to as SANE exams or rape kits. The exams can reveal invisible injuries and collect crucial DNA evidence that can help put rapists behind bars.
But CU's 30, students can't get an exam anywhere on the Boulder campus, including the student health center. The exams also aren't offered at any hospital in the city, or, for that matter, anywhere in Boulder County. The nearest hospital that offers these exams is in Westminster, 20 miles away. Because waits can be long there at St. Anthony North Hospital, CU advises its students who have been sexually assaulted to go to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, a minute drive on a good day.
Of the top colleges as ranked by U. News and World Report for , only four provide the exams in their student health centers. Twenty-two schools offer them at university-affiliated hospitals, according to a survey conducted by CU religious studies professor Lucas Carmichael and recent CU graduate Nevada Drollinger-Smith.
CU is one of more than 80 colleges under investigation for civil rights violations related to their handling of sexual violence. Some colleges β and by law, all in California β have enforced a yes-means-yes concept on campus, requiring affirmative consent for all sexual contact, in hopes of decreasing the incidence of assault.
