Social Service Plus Social Change

As I mentioned in the previous post, I have been attending a volunteer training program at Rape Victim Advocates. I am now past the half-way point of the four week program and will soon be certified as an advocate to volunteer in the emergency room as well as on the rape crisis hotline.

Every time I leave my volunteer training, as I'm walking back to the train, I just keep thinking of how easy my day job is and what a relief it will be to return to it. The last couple of sessions have been a bit overwhelming. From role plays to medical advocacy to evidence collection and legal protocol to drug facilitated sexual assault to abortion services...it's been a doozy of a week so far. Of course there are the self-doubts, the inevitable worry of, "How can I pull this off?" The role of an advocate in the emergency room is a tall order to fill. That said, I continue to take comfort in the fact that when the time comes, it won't be a choice--I will pull it off because I have to, because that is the only option, and (most importantly) because I will be working with an amazing staff who will be only a phone call away for back-up. The women that have been my trainers have among them a wealth of knowledge and experience that will become my support system once I begin taking calls as a medical advocate.

Apart from my personal experience, I would like to share some of the topics that have been discussed in recent training sessions. All of the sessions have been informative and helpful. One area of which I would like to focus on is a fundamental one. When we think of rape, we have a lot of preconceived notions that we bring to the table--whether we are aware of them or not. Most likely, we will conjure up an image of a heterosexual male committing a violent, anonymous assault against a (young, white, heterosexual) woman. It is obvious to point out that the perpetrator and the victim can be of either gender, any variation of sexual orientation, any race, any age, and so on. It's easy to say, but until you really spend the time to wrap your mind around the possibilities, you cannot begin to deconstruct the imagined "rape scenario" that may dominate the forefront of the imagination. I say this because, not only is it important to be aware of male rape, marital rape, rape of sex workers, the elderly, the disabled, and abuse of children/adolescents (often by other children/adolescents), but because it is essential in coming to terms with the reality of what rape is. Like so many things, culture has a way of coloring that reality, of contorting it, of creating prejudices, of replacing truth with lies and myths. It is these ignorant myths of convenience that do so much damage and perpetuate the cycle of violence, making it that much harder for survivors. It is the myths that erode the social harmony that survivors and advocates fight so hard for.

There is so much to tackle, so I'll begin with a simple one (taken from the RVA training manual).

Myth: Sexual assault is an act of lust and passion. Fact: Sexual assault and abuse are about power and control used to dominate, punish or humiliate another person or group of people.

This is huge. Again, it's easy to say, "Of course!" But it's even easier to resort to victim blaming. It's easy for others (and even the victim) to point to appearance and behavior as contributing factors of the assault. So I'll say again: rape is not sex--it is an act of violence. It is not about sexual gratification but about exerting power and control over another person. This is all too clear if we look to the history of rape and the times and instances it has been utilized--times of war, slavery, etc. I could go even further back, cite Biblical passages that address rape as a crime against the husband, against his "property." What matters, however, is a true understanding of the nature of the act and what motivates it. Like any other violent crime, it cannot be provoked by the victim (a logical absurdity) and therefore, blame cannot be attributed to the victim--the perpetrator is solely responsible. One only has to look to incidents of elderly rape and rape of the developmentally challenged for proof positive. It sickens to think that rape is the only crime that has the audacity to ask of the victim, "What were you wearing?" As if anyone would dare ask Grandma, or the woman in the wheelchair, or the adolescent boy that question. It is interesting to note what is really on the mind of the rapist: "Most convicted rapists admit they don't remember what the victim was wearing. Furthermore, in interviews with convicted rapists, many say they mostly look at the shoes of the victim to determine the ability to run away or fight back" (from the RVA manual).

My point being, the focus needs to be on the perpetrator when looking to reasons behind the violence. This is so fundamental, but it is an issue that survivors and advocates routinely face--even from friends and family members. This is indicative of a consciousness that needs changing. Rape Victim Advocates addresses this problem head on. As they state, RVA has two primary goals: "to assure that survivors of sexual assault are treated with dignity and compassion and to affect changes in the way the legal system, medical institutions and society as a whole respond to survivors." Put simply, it is social service plus social change. I leave you with another myth:

Myth: There is nothing we can do about sexual violence. Fact: Sexual violence can be combated with information, education and action. Confronting sexism, prejudice and oppression affects the power dynamics that feed into our rape culture.