Support Services for Victims of Rape & Assault

Reporting a Sexual Assault

Filing a Police Report

The University of Notre Dame encourages all victims of sexual assault to report such incidents to the appropriate police agency. If the incident occurred on Notre Dame property, Notre Dame Security Police is the appropriate agency. For most off-campus incidents, the appropriate agency will be either the St. Joseph County, South Bend or Mishawaka police departments. Notre Dame Security Police is available, at any time, to help you identify which police agency has jurisdiction and assist you in reporting an assault.

If you contact Notre Dame Security Police about the assault, a specially trained investigator is assigned to follow up on the initial report. Filing a report with Notre Dame Security Police does not commit you to any subsequent course of action. You will be given information about options and alternatives but the final decisions are up to you. Throughout this process, every effort will be made to preserve confidentiality.

Notre Dame’s Disciplinary Process

The University’s disciplinary process (administered through the Office of Residence Life and Housing) and the criminal justice system (police and prosecutor’s office) are two very different routes for addressing an incident of sexual assault, and they are by no means mutually exclusive. To learn more about the University’s disciplinary process, you can either contact the Victim’s Resource Person, Ava Preacher, as described above, or you may make a confidential inquiry with the Office of Residence Life and Housing at 631-5551. A student making such an inquiry will not be required to give her or his name or describe the incident in detail. Obviously, requesting information does not commit a student to any subsequent course of action.

The University encourages the reporting of sexual misconduct, especially sexual assault.At times, victims are hesitant to report to University officials because they are concerned that they themselves may be charged with policy violations, such as intoxication or parietals.The University recognizes that it is in the community’s best interest that victims feel supported and encouraged to report sexual assaults or misconduct; accordingly, student victims will not be subject to disciplinary action in connection with their reporting of sexual assault or misconduct.