April 2014

From Empowerment to Justice

Few topics elicit such a range of emotion or so much confusion as rape.  Yet, if you are a women there is a 1 in 5 chance that you are a survivor.  And, if you aren't, then it's almost certain you know someone who is.  

 

We see over 300 sexual assault survivors each year at the Crisis Center.  Because we understand how devastating the crime of rape is to the survivor and those who love her, we offer a range of services that begin and end with the need for justice.  From the start of the forensic exam, where a highly skilled ARNP gathers evidence that a rape has occurred, followed by ongoing advocacy, counseling and, eventually, empowerment, we believe justice is just as essential to long term recovery as anything else we can do with or for the survivor. 

 

But justice isn't just about facing your attacker in court (less than 3% of all rapist ever serve time in jail), it's about changing societal attitudes that range from apathy to antipathy.  Rape survivors, unlike other crime victims, are often believed to be responsible for what happened to them. Their attacker is pictured as a hapless, hormone driven male who was overcome by the seductive provocations of his victim. Poor brute, if she only hadn't dressed that way or smiled at him or said a kind word to him, he would never have done what he did.  After all, boys will be boys!  

 

It's attitudes such as these that make rape all the more tragic and unretractable.  The victim is assaulted twice, first by her attacker and then by a society that suspects her veracity and motives. It's no wonder so few rape survivors report the crime or that they are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression, 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. (RAINN, 2009) 

 

It's also attitudes such as these that give the Crisis Center's annual Take Back the Night event such significance.  Take Back the Night offers survivors and their allies the opportunity to make public what was previously only whispered in private; to share what it is like to survive rape, to find healing within a community of fellow survivors, to call for changes in our laws that allow attackers to walk free while their victims are incarcerated by ignorance, misunderstanding and sexism.  

 

If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual violence, call 211.   We are waiting to hear from you.  Please also join us on April 27th for this year's Take Back the Night.  You may even want to be one of the speakers.  Whether you speak or not, just being there will be a stand for justice and I can think of no better place for help, hope and healing to begin. 

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