Sexual Assault Awareness Month

"There is no such thing as passive anti-oppression. We are either actively working against oppression or we are colluding with it, allowing it to continue in our name."
(ICASA Resource Manual)

April is sexual assault awareness month. But here, it starts early. In fact, every month is sexual assault awareness month as far as this blog is concerned. So it is in the spirit of education that I present this post.

Manning the Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline at the YWCA on weeknights can be pretty low-key. The phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook. In between intermittent calls, there is plenty of time for self-education and training. The YWCA provides a myriad of materials for this exact purpose. The women who comprise the staff at the YWCA are impressively knowledgeable. I spend my time trying to catch up.

Certainly my training with Rape Victim Advocates (RVA) was an eye-opener. However, education is an on-going process. With an area such as sexual violence, there are so many elements involved that intersect with one another--legal issues, medical issues, social issues, and so on. It can be a bit overwhelming. But even a complex issue can be distilled down to the basics.

When I think of generating awareness (on any matter of public concern), I think of relating it to the individual. As a young woman myself, I think, "Could this happen to me?" Statistically speaking, there is a decent chance: about 17%. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), 1 in 6 women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, with college-age women four times more likely to be sexually assaulted. Although the majority of women will not have to experience sexual assault directly, it is nonetheless a sobering statistic. As the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) states:

Women between the ages of 20 and 44 had the highest levels of risk for having ever been raped (over 15%).

Furthermore, being a woman between the ages of 16 and 25, I am three times more likely to be raped. It is a fact that I am aware of every single day. And at the end of each day, I consider myself lucky to have escape unscathed. But then I am reminded that my good fortune is possible because of others' misfortune. In Illinois, the figure is 1 out of every 7. In a big city like Chicago, that's a sizable percentage of the population. Sexual violence occurs every single day and we pass by countless anonymous survivors on the street every single day.

By and large, the most common type of sexual assault that occurs is acquaintance rape. According to ICASA:

• More than 70% of rape or sexual assault victims knew their attackers, compared to about half of all violent crime victims.
• 75% of all sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance of the victim.
• Two of three victims age 18-29 had a prior relationship with the rapist.

What happens in the situation of acquaintance rape, the most prevalent form of sexual assault? Unfortunately, the circumstances work to the advantage of the perpetrator:

90% of sexual assault victims who knew their attacker did not report the attack to the police.

The after effects of rape--shame, humiliation, self-blame--are compounded by the fact that the victim knew her attacker personally. Tragically, the high incidence of this type of rape coupled with the low incidence of reporting only plays into the hands of the perpetrator, thereby making future assaults even easier. It is also why acquaintance rape is not usually thought of as the most common type of rape. I'll admit that I was surprised to learn this. Perhaps without being aware of it, I had automatically imagined stranger rape when I thought of sexual assault. This is a common assumption. Given the low rate of reporting, it is easy to see why. But this kind of sexual violence is the most prevalent, and therefore, needs to be addressed in a big way.

Once I wrapped my mind around the implications of acquaintance rape, I immediately thought of the males in my life. Could anyone I know be capable of and willing to carry out such an act of violence? It's a whole new game when you evaluate the people in your life rather than just strangers on the street. Your friends, your acquaintances, your co-workers already have your trust (or a degree of it). Trust, along with proximity, makes for the ease of carrying out a crime. Add to that the pain and humiliation of reporting a person you know as your rapist, and the stage is set.

To be absolutely clear, the victim/survivor is never to blame. No one ever deserves to be the victim of a violent crime. You are only in control of your own actions and you can never completely remove yourself from risk. That being said, watch the company you keep--for your sake and for the sake of the other five women.

Now, I believe sexual assault awareness should involve both sexes. The burden should not rest solely on the sex that is by far the victim of the violence in most cases. It is just as important for men to take a hard look at themselves and who they surround themselves with, who they call friends, and what they call acceptable. As it has been said, college women are most at risk for sexual assault. Rather than focus on that demographic, we need to shift focus to the college men to get to the root of the problem. Sexual assault awareness and training is common place in a number of colleges and universities--as it should be. However, there is a recent movement to target men with prevention training. I think this is wonderful in such an atmosphere that often encourages the type of behavior that leads to sexual assault.

In 2001, Frank Baird founded Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, an unorthodox form of activism that has men marching in high heels to raise awareness and money for the cause. I'm not sure how I feel about tackling a serious issue in this manner, but there's no doubt that it does some good. It gets men involved, opens up communication, and educates the community. Personally, I'm more in favor of straight-forward classroom training that tackles the tough issues.

About a year ago, there was a great article in the Star Tribune on the University of Minnesota and their sexual violence education program, which focuses prevention training toward the men on campus. Just being able to openly talk about what constitutes sexual assault and how ubiquitous it is can be powerful. For young men to use the labels of sexual assault and rape to accurately define certain actions is so important. And to do all of this in a cooperative environment is key. As the article states: "Of about 80 campuses receiving Department of Justice grants to address sexual assault and other issues, about 20 have full-fledged men's programs, while almost all the others are on their way to starting them." Let's keep it up. Lauren Pilnick, sexual violence education coordinator at Minnesota State University, Mankato, sums it up: "The fact of the matter is that prevention comes down to, largely, males. Because males are primarily the ones perpetrating these crimes." Sounds simple right?

Sexual violence is something both men and women must be aware of and work to prevent. Every day presents challenges as well as opportunities to educate. And remember, there is no such thing as passive anti-oppression.