Rape is a felony offense in North Carolina
Report a Rape
- If you are raped, report the crime immediately to law enforcement. Rapists are frequently repeat offenders and your report will aid in the apprehension and conviction of the culprit.
- You can tell law enforcement everything you remember about the attacker and nothing about yourself.
- Telling the police what happened does not mean you have to prosecute that person.
- If you choosse to prosecute, the authorities will pursue the crime to the fullest extent of the law.
What To Do in Case of Rape
- Try to remember as much as possible about the attacker and what took place.
- Do not change clothes, bathe or douche, but get to an emergency room or a community-based, sexual-assault forensic medical examiner as quickly as possible to provide evidence.
- The clothes you were wearing at the time of the attack become part of the evidence collected, so if you can, take a change of clothes to the hospital or to the forensic examiner.
- Call family member, friend, clergyman or a local rape crisis center to find people who can support you and provide assistance.
Additional Victim Notification Requirements
A medical facility or medical professionals that performs forsenic medical examination will encourage victims to submit an application for reimbursement of medical expenses beyond the forensic examination to Victims Compensation.
Free Forensic Medical Examinations
- If a sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault has occurred in North Carolina, the Rape Victims Assistance Program pays for the cost of a forsenic medical exam.
- Trained health care professionals who perform forensic exams using the Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit do not bill the victim or the victim’s personal insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or any other collateral source for the examination.
- A medical facility or medical professional who performs a forensic medical examination on the victim of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault shall not seek payment for the examination except from the program. In addition, the medical facility or medical professional shall accept payment made under this section as payment full of the amount owed for the cost of the examination and other eligible expenses.
- Payments by the program for the forensic medical exam shall be limited to the following:
- Physician and /or SANE Nurse $ 350.00
- Hospital/Facility Fee $ 250.00
- Other Expenses Deemed Eligible by the program $ 200.00
Maximum Total $800.00 After the rape kit is transferred to local law enforcement, the medical provider needs to submit a bill with an itemized statement of expenses as soon as possible to Victims Compensation.
Resources
North Carolina Coaltion Against Domestic Violence
1-919-956-9124
www.nccadv.org
North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
1-919-870-8881
www.nccasa.org
NC Statewide Automated Victim Assistance and Notification
1-877-NCSAVAN (1-877-627-2826)
www.ncsavan.org
North CarolinaVictim Assistance Network
1-800-348-5068
www.nc-van.org.
Rape Victims Assistance Program
Victims Compensation
4232 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 2699-4232
1-800-826-6200
919-733-7974
919-715-4209 (Fax)
www.ncdps.victimservices