A student looking for support and appropriate medical attention following sexual assault should search beyond the walls of University Health Services (UHS) and away from most administrative support, say two Harvard undergraduate women who were assaulted last spring.

One woman, raped by Joshua M. Elster, Class of 2000, turned first to UHS. But when the College's counseling fell short of what she needed, she looked off campus for continued support.

The woman assaulted by D. Drew Douglas, also Class of 2000, originally contacted the peer counseling group Response. Upon their advice, she says she steered clear of UHS and headed to Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, whose rape crisis intervention center is among the best in the region.

Now, with the student-run Coalition Against Sexual Violence picking up their cause, the women have publicly criticized the University's support mechanisms. The say they hope to change the resources available to Harvard students in times of crisis.

For the members of the Coalition, who came together following the Elster rape in February 1998, that means building a women's center, improving the Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment (SASH) advising system, and offering round-the-clock counseling services. Because the way things stand right now, they say, undergraduates who have been sexually assaulted turn away from Harvard just when they need the College's support the most.

Initial Contact

When the woman assaulted by Dou- glas first reported her attack, she says shequickly realized that UHS officials were notsufficiently trained to help her.

"The person I talked to who answered the phoneat UHS at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning had no ideahow to deal with me-and there was, according tothe voice on the phone, no one else around whocould take my call," she wrote in an e-mailmessage.

According to Nadja B. Gould, a clinical socialworker at UHS, the College's medical services doesnot treat enough rape victims each year tomaintain staff members trained in specialized rapecrisis procedures. UHS used to offer 24-hour rapecounseling, but now Gould says while there arealways mental health staff members on call, theyare not specifically trained to handle sexualassault.

Dr. David S. Rosenthal '59, director of UHS,says his medical staff almost never performs rapekits, which allow medical personnel to collectevidence of the rape that can then be used in atrial.

"If they're not doing them very frequently,they aren't very comfortable doing them,"Rosenthal said.

Instead, sexual assault victims must travelBeth Israel Deaconess in Boston to receivetreatment from a qualified Sexual Assault NurseExaminer (SANE). SANE nurses, Gould says, usuallyoperate out of a hospital that sees at least 100rapes a year.

Dr. Veronica Reed Ryback, the director of BethIsrael's Rape Crisis Intervention Center, says herhospital is the area's most comprehensive providerof these services.

"The reason [students] are brought over here isthat in order to administer an evidencecollection-there are a lot of details. It reallyneeds to be done by an expert," Ryback said.

That is exactly what the undergraduateassaulted by Douglas says she chose to do in theaftermath of her attack.

"Although getting to the hospital wasincredibly difficult, until UHS has some kind ofprofessional rape crisis center, I would recommendthat any survivor do the same. The quality of carewas worth it once I arrived," she wrote.