Rape Victims: Afraid to Report Crime : Problem for America is to eliminate the stigma of reporting the trauma

The harsh and permanent stigma of rape silences millions of victims who refuse to report a sordid and violent crime that may visit shame on them rather than compassion.

Fewer than 16% of rape victims report the crime, according to interpretations of the National Women’s Study paid for by the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse and a survey of rape crisis centers by the Crime Victims Research Center.

Many victims understandably refuse to come forward, fearing their honesty would be questioned or they would be accused of bringing the crime on themselves. Their silence allows rapists to go unpunished, perhaps to violate other victims.

More rape victims would go to authorities, according to the victims center report, if there was a blanket law prohibiting the news media from publishing or broadcasting their names--a policy adhered to by the Los Angeles Times and many other members of the news media.

However, some victims don’t want even their family to know. Obviously, if more rapists are to be brought to justice, it is necessary that the stigma of being a victim be reduced.

Only 22% of rapes are attributed to strangers, according to the women’s study. Acquaintance rape, perhaps by friends or neighbors, accounts for 29% of the crimes. Family members including fathers, step fathers and other relatives account for 27%. Date rape, often by boyfriends or former boyfriends, and rapes by husbands or ex-husbands account for 19%. The remaining 3% of victims did not categorize their attacker.

An astonishing 29% of rapists assault children younger than 11. These children--and every rape victim--need refuge rather than rebuke when they report such attacks.

Rapes, tragically, are common. As many as 12 million American women have been raped, the study estimated.

Society bears much of the blame for conditions that lead the large majority of rape victims to believe they have more to lose than to gain by reporting the crime.

Rape Disparity A new report reveals a large difference between extimated actual rapes and those that are reported. Reported: 102,560 Actual: 683,000 Sources: FBI Uniform Crime Reports (reported cases); National Women’s Study (actual), 1990.