Trigger Warning:
The rape epidemic on college campuses--one in five women is sexually assaulted--has been publicized in Take Back the Night protests and consensual sex workshops that have proliferated in recent decades. But on-campus rape has not diminished, in no small part because campus authorities do next to nothing to deter it.
Common wisdom holds that prosecuting rape is difficult because it often boils down to one person's word against another's. But that notion obscures the fact that rape prosecution often stalls because of a lack of political will. According to a story on NPR today, colleges are legally bound by the federal government to publicize crimes that happen on campus. But it's a loosely-enforced law, one that has been used to fine schools only six times. Even when colleges do report crimes such as rape, they can still deal with rape internally by submitting the alleged rapist to a panel of college professors or administrators. These individuals more than likely view informal campus courts as a venue for student growth and reflection, rather than a place to mete out punishment. This means that rapists--even if they are found guilty--are rarely expelled from school. And that means that the women who were raped--and their friends--must see and interact with the people who violated them, sometimes on a daily basis. Some of these women drop out of school. Others suffer silently or even face threats and taunts from the rapist and his friends.
The NPR story made me cry. But it also made me a bit hopeful that things will get better. In it, the Department of Education assistant secretary for civil rights, Russlynn Ali, commits to prosecuting universities that don't appropriately deal with rape by removing some of their federal funding. That is something that her predecessors never did. -Naomi
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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4 comments:
Prosecution and the removal of federal funding would be heartening. Education for both men (of the Jackson Katz nature) and women can only be helpful.
For the past four years, in recognition of Mother's Day, we have conducted a Women's Safety Seminar (as a community service). I am happy to say, we have had excellent attendance. We own and operate a well established Martial Arts School, have been in our area for over 15 years and have worked with thousands of kids in our community.
However, when I offered a Self-defense Course free of charge to the local High School, for their graduating female Seniors, they were not interested! One in five of their college bound female students (total student body 3,000+) will be raped, but they are not interested?!?
Upon further questioning, the consensus seems to be that parents do not want to hear about rape on college campuses, which exacerbates the problem. The reality of rape is horrendous, but the Ostrich technique (burying the head) only serves to keep this alarming statistic viable.
I live in San Diego and have three major universities within 30 minutes drive, I gladly offer my services, but unfortunately my requests are falling on deaf ears. I want to be part of the solution, I have the skills to share, but perhaps not the strategy for getting my foot in the door.
Comments welcome
This is a huge problem... and I think that it should be said right here and right now... rape is not always a violent act! The complacency of the educational system is un-real.
While I do not want to discount the fact that self defense is important, (and bravo for your work Michelle..)
Most campus rapes occur in the form of drugging/date rape/ etc. Where the women often does feel responsible, and the word really is his against hers (in majority of cases, of course we know anyone can be raped).
Being drugged, or even extremely intoxicated for that matter (alcohol is a drug people!) lends to the confusion of an attack and often leads to no action often on the part of the victim, and commonly on the part of the police/campus. Inaccuracy and lack of detail in these cases are huge hurdles.
Date rape drugs do not stay in the body for long... about 6 hours tops. By the time the victim wakes up, the drugs can not be tested for, and do not get tested for. Visine can be used as a date rape drug!!! It is very easy to obtain date rape drugs.
As a women I recall being taught that date rape drugs can find their way into your drink... and to "be careful and always watch" but it seems to me that is is an extremely biased way to deal with the problem. It should not be just the victims issue... It is not illegal to be intoxicated, but it is illegal to have sex with a person who is unable to consent!
I think education should go this direction! I think it should be covered in schools like DARE is.... I think it should include self defense, but I think it should also cover the psychological issues surrounding rape (like how it can and does happen to anyone!) and be geared towards all men and women! The only way to rise above this is to empower and protect through education and social norm.
Thank you James, your point is invaluable.
We are able to tailor the safety awareness education to specific students' needs. You may appreciate that an integral aspect of the training is setting verbal boundaries which lends itself to women finding their "voice" and thus being "heard" not just by the perpetrator but also by society. It is a powerful tool in practice, but also empowering on a psychological level.
How do we begin to transform Rape Culture?
There's another installment in the series available at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124052847.
I think a quote from a community poster that was on the sidebar when I read the article sums up a large part of the issue pretty well: "Rape won't be stopped by telling young women not to drink; it'll be stopped when people quit making excuses for rapists."
Of course, not making excuses for rapists won't stop rape from happening, but it's a good start toward changing the culture. As it is, rapists have almost nothing to fear. We need authorities to take the issue seriously, but we also need a massive shift in the general public's view of what rape is, who commits it, and how to stop it. Right now there are so many misconceptions and so much false information that people seem just as likely to defend a rapist as to support a victim/survivor. The comments on the NPR story are an example: instead of a collective expression of disgust/anger/sadness and a discussion of solutions to this problem (the high frequency of rape as well as institutions failing to act), it's yet another debate between people defending rapists and people defending victims/survivors. I'm guessing most rapists are aware that they have the public on their side.
On a related note, I was dismayed last night to hear Dave Davies of Fresh Air, in discussing Roman Polanski with Ewan McGregor, say "[he] was placed under arrest, you know, to face extradition to the United States for the, you know, his - the incident in 1977 when he pled guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.[...]Did you have any qualms about working for him?"
How about "Did you have qualms about working with a convicted rapist?" If we're going to talk about the topic we may as well be direct.
I don't want to derail from the main conversation, but I think it's worth pointing out how pervasive this is. Davies basically set McGregor up to brush by the question (he said there was no controversy on set and that he was "happy to be his actor"). Holding rapists accountable includes calling rape what it is and questioning the people who stand by rapists.
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