Across the US, reported assaults, sexual assaults, rapes and homicides inside health care facilities increased by 171% between 2019 and 2023, according to a report by the Joint Commission, a nonprofit health care accrediting organization.
If you are a victim of sexual assault, you could be entitled to significant compensation through an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. You might be able to file a claim against your attacker and anyone who facilitated the abuse, such as an employer, a church, or a public or private school.
Since civil claims are very different from criminal cases, you could still file a personal injury lawsuit even if your abuser has not been charged with or convicted of a crime. Criminal and civil courts take different approaches to evidence and to culpability/liability.
When someone is suspected of sexual assault and sent to a criminal court, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect committed a crime. In a civil case, the burden of proof is a “preponderance of evidence.” In other words, a judge or jury could award you damages if it is more likely than not that you were sexually assaulted.
Regardless of whether the criminal justice system can punish the offender, a sexual assault victim can file a civil lawsuit against them and recover damages for their trauma. The standard of proof in a civil case is much lower than in criminal matters. The victim only needs to prove that it is more likely than not that the offender committed the acts that are described in the civil lawsuit. Further, a survivor can still file even if a prosecutor declines to press criminal charges.
Crisis Support:
National Sexual Assault Hotline: Confidential 24/7 Support
- Chat Online at: online.rainn.org
- Call someone who can help: 800-656-4673
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available.
Crisis Support Service
Sexual Assault and Harassment
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: a service of RAINN
• Online chat hotline
• Spanish online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 800-656-HOPE (4673)
• National Helpline for Male Survivors: a service of 1in6
• Online chat hotline
• National Street Harassment Hotline: a service of Stop Street Harassment
• Online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 855-897-5910
• DoD Safe Helpline: a service for members of the U.S. military and their families, operated by RAINN for the Department of Defense
• Online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 877-995-5247
Domestic and Dating Violence
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• Online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 800-799-SAFE
• Love is Respect: a service of the National Domestic Violence Hotline
• Online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 866-331-9474
Other Victims of Crime
• VictimConnect: A service of the National Center for Victims of Crime, for all crime victims
• Online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 855-4-VICTIM (84-2846)
• National Human Trafficking Hotline: a service of Polaris
• Online chat hotline
• Telephone hotline: 888-373-7888
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Telephone hotline: 800-THE-LOST (843-5678)
