‘One Strike’ for Rapists Isn’t Nearly Enough : Crime: Very few sexual assaults are even reported; the state’s crackdown should focus on prevention and encouraging victims to come forward.

Gov. Pete Wilson’s “one strike and you’re in for life” bill was initially presented as a simple solution to the complex problem of sexual assault. Mandating a life sentence upon first conviction for all sex offenders, it was part of a wave of repressive laws that promote the criminalization of a select portion of our population while diverting billions of our tax dollars toward excessive prison construction. Such laws have everything to do with taking political advantage of the public’s well-founded fear of violent crime, but they have almost nothing to do with actually preventing the crimes at which they are directed.

Since the bill’s introduction, concerted pressure from rape crisis centers and others has resulted in amendments that reflect many of the concerns that caused the greatest alarm. In its current form, the bill doubles most rape sentences. It also allows a 25-year-to-life “enhancement,” at the discretion of the prosecutor, when the assault was accompanied by certain circumstances such as kidnaping, use of a dangerous weapon or infliction of great bodily injury. However, even if the law were passed in its harshest form, it would barely begin to put a dent in the massive and complex social malady of sexual violence in our society.

Studies report that approximately one out of five adult women in the United States has been sexually assaulted--in most cases while a minor. In California, this translates as 3 million female survivors of rape or other forms of sexual assault. (The incidence of sexual assault on boys and men is lower, but significant.) Can Gov. Wilson and his supporters possibly believe that putting convicted sex offenders behind bars for life will stop rape? The California State Coalition of Rape Crisis Centers doesn’t.

The fact is that only a tiny percentage of sex offenders will ever be incarcerated. The FBI estimates that 90% of rapes are never reported to the police; of those reported, less than 20% go to court, and of those that go to court, only 50% end in conviction. Usually, the probability of a conviction has more to do with the defendant’s ability to afford legal representation than with his guilt or innocence.

The vast majority of sex offenders, most of whom are known to their victims, never come in contact with the judicial system. Who are these men? They are the victims’ acquaintances and intimates--their fathers, uncles, boyfriends and dates.

Because they are already in relationships of unequal power with their assailants, most survivors of sexual assault bypass the judicial system altogether and attempt to deal with their mistreatment within the context of their existing social network. By bolstering the institutions that empower and assist victims and potential victims of violence, we can reach a far greater number of sexual assault survivors and have a far more positive impact on society as a whole.

If we are really interested in eliminating rape from our culture, we need to find out why so many men believe that it is acceptable behavior. Research shows that most rapists were abused as children. Rather than pouring our taxes into the increased incarceration of a symbolic minority, we would do much more to reduce human misery by redirecting our money to programs that provide support and treatment to families in which children are being abused, thereby permanently interrupting the growing legacy of violence. Along the same lines, public education promoting safety, respect and self-defense for children and women offers a much more cost-effective way of reducing sexual assault.

Toward this end, California would do well to adopt a policy that balances punishment with prevention by mandating that every dollar spent on incarcerating rapists by matched by two dollars devoted to programs aimed at preventing sexual assault. Such a policy, in conjunction with a more judicious application of punitive laws, would mark the beginning of a sensible, effective and compassionate approach to ending rape.