Friday, December 4, 1998
It’s Still Rape
Most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim
knows,
and that can make dealing with the aftermath even harder
By Christina Gorospe
Daily Bruin Contributor
Behind Saxon Suites and parking lot 13, there is a well-known
dirt pathway that slopes down the side of a hill to Gayley
Avenue.
It is of narrow width – only two people can walk side-by-side
comfortably. There is shrubbery on both sides, and except for one
sole light, the entire pathway is dark and potentially dangerous.
Anyone can easily lose his or her footing on the dirt path or on
the makeshift stairs. No person, man or woman, would want to walk
through this path at night alone.
It is called the "rape trail."
Women think twice about using the trail after dark without an
escort, fearful of the risk and crime associated with the path.
They avoid this route and other situations like it: dark alleys,
walking alone from Westwood Village or walking back from
campus.
"I try not to stay on campus too late or walk anywhere by
myself," said Kris Vasudevan, a first-year undeclared student. "I
always try to have a friend with me."
"I never walk alone," said Pearl Omiya, a first-year undeclared
student.
What many women don’t realize is that the danger of rape is
highest not when a female is out all alone, but rather when she is
with someone she knows.
"The true rape trails are through the residence halls, the
fraternities and the apartments," said Robin McDonald, the sexual
violence prevention and education coordinator at the Women’s
Resource Center.
This phenomenon, known as "acquaintance rape" or "date rape," is
forced, unwanted intercourse with a person the victim knows.
Almost 18 percent of the women in the United States have been
the victim of rape or attempted rape at some point during their
lives, according to a federally commissioned study released last
month.
In college, 1 in 4 female students is a rape survivor, according
to a 1993 study by the National Victim Center.
Experts estimate that in the rapes that are reported, about 60
percent of the victims know their assailant.
That means a woman is more likely to be raped by a man she knows
by name – whether it be a man she has been dating or somebody she
has recently met – than by a stranger in a ski mask.
"There is a myth out there when we think about rape and sexual
assault. The movies and the media depict (the rapist) as this scary
kind of person who is really violent and who is a stranger,"
McDonald said.
According to crime statistics released by university police,
there were four reported rapes last year. In all cases the victim
was on a date, out with friends or at a party, and only in one
incident was the suspect unidentifiable.
This year there has been one attempted rape and three actual
rapes. In all three rape cases the victim knew the assailant.
Though some may say this is a low number and an indication of
low crime, McDonald is concerned about the figure.
She estimated that the Women’s Resource Center sees between 60
and 95 students in an academic year for post-sexual assault related
service. National studies show that 90 percent of all rapes will
never be reported.
Often, women are afraid of how they will be stigmatized and
judged if they report the crime. Victims who come forward and make
reports face the possibility of being harassed by both men and
women.
Victims often blame themselves, and this sometimes discourages
them from filing a report.
"Shame and guilt can go a long way in preventing a victim from
coming forward. There’s the shame in thinking, ‘I should have, I
could have, why didn’t I,’" McDonald said.
Many men who commit date rape often do not realize that their
actions are defined as a crime. Sometimes they may even approach
the victim and ask her out on another date.
In 1985, Ms. magazine surveyed about 7,000 students on 32
college campuses. One in every 12 men admitted to forcing a woman
into intercourse or trying to force a woman to have intercourse
through physical force or coercion. None of these men identified
themselves as rapists.
The same study showed that many women who have been raped do not
know that they are the victim of a crime. Only 57 percent of the
women who had been raped labeled their experience as rape; the
other 43 percent did not even acknowledge that a crime had
occurred.
Many do not know that an intoxicated person cannot legally
consent to sex. So, even if a drunk woman says "yes," her partner
cannot proceed. It can technically be considered rape.
In all of the reported rape cases last year, alcohol was
involved.
Alcohol often makes it difficult to prosecute rape cases.
Because one or both parties may have been intoxicated at the time,
it can become a matter of one person’s word against another’s.
Date rape in itself is often difficult to gather evidence for
because it is not always a brutal attack that leaves bruises or
ripped clothing, and there often are no witnesses.
UCLA offers many services to those who have suffered a sexual
assault. The Women’s Resource Center, Student Psychological
Services (SPS) and the UCPD ensure that no victim has to feel
helpless.
SPS offers individual, confidential counseling.
"We do individual therapy and crisis counseling, and work with
other resources on campus," said Dr. Susan Bakota, a counselor at
SPS.
Emergency walk-in hours are also available for students. SPS
aims to provide immediate response to students who experience
trauma such as rape, Bakota said.
Both the Women’s Resource Center and the UCPD sponsor workshops
related to the the prevention and awareness of sexual assault.
"Through education, students can lower the risk of becoming a
victim," Bolanos said.
The UCPD hopes that more victims will come forward and report
rapes and attempted rapes.
"If we can get victims to come forward and help us out to find
the assailant, hopefully we can prevent (the crime) from happening
again," Bolanos said.
McDonald was quick to warn that any form of violence will not be
tolerated and reiterated that the university’s first concern is the
student.
"Our goal is to help victims heal, providing them with all the
resources and referrals that we can, with the ultimate goal that
they remain successful at the university," she said.
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