Beginning today and for the next three weeks, we will focus on issues of violence against women - and men - through a series of articles detailing the mission and work of RAVE, Relief After Violent Encounter.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
To the editor:
Governor John Engler has proclaimed the month of April Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Michigan to increase public awareness about this important issue. While we frequently hear about sexual assaults in the news, we still like to think rape happens to other people in other communities.
And, it makes us feel better to blame the victim. If the victim "asked for it" then we are safe. Rape cannot happen to us.
Rapists do not rape, for example, because the victim is dressed a certain way. Rapists choose victims who are vulnerable. That is why almost any woman or child is a potential victim. In fact, the majority of rapes are committed against minors, and most rapes occur in a home, not a dark alley as many believe.
In 1999, in the State of Michigan, 4,695 forcible rapes were reported to law enforcement and it is estimated that half or even fewer are ever reported to police. One in five women will be raped in her lifetime and one in four will experience an attempted rape.
Despite these staggering statistics, rape remains a silent crime in our community and throughout Michigan. Rape isn't polite. We don't talk about rape. We all know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault, but 'you may not know it.
Victims hide this secret because we blame them. They are afraid they will not be believed and supported. That is why nationally less than 16 percent of rapes are reported to authorities and less than 2% of rapists actually serve time in prison.
The wounds of sexual assault are usually not apparent on the outside, but there can be profound emotional wounds. Life may never be the same for a sexual assault victim, whether the rapist was a stranger, date, acquaintance, or family member.
RAVE sees not only the damage done to survivors, but to those who care about them. As a community, we are damaging ourselves by not talking about it. We continue to place our most vulnerable residents at risk by not supporting victims and not holding perpetrators accountable.
Let us pause and ask ourselves how we can work together to reduce sexual assault and respond to survivors of this violence in a way that enables them to heal and regain control in their lives.
We encourage you to join us this month in our efforts to reach out to survivors to take down their masks and share their secrets. And let us commit to face the reality that rape lives in our own backyards.
Beth Morrison,
RAVE Executive Director