Survivors of Rape Struggle to Speak Out in Public Service Ad

It was supposed to be a moment of catharsis for someone who has struggled for years to overcome the pain of rape.

But the tearful woman could barely watch Thursday when her face flashed on the screen as part of a television campaign aimed at erasing the stigma felt by victims of sexual assault.

A local women’s group previewed a 60-second public service announcement that area television stations will be asked to air between now and April 17, when a daylong series of activities in Los Angeles will honor rape survivors.

Fourteen women were filmed describing how they survived rape. The finished version is powerful.

And painful.

“I had to look away,” the woman admitted, tears pouring down her face after the screening at the Los Angeles Central Library.

The dark-haired woman in her 40s, who was raped five years ago, said there is still apprehension among victims about going public with their stories.

Her attacker, a married co-worker who later repeatedly called her to deny that the assault occurred, was never charged with a crime, she said.

“My career is what holds me together,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “It’s a very small world. I’m putting myself on the line already by being in the film.”

One of those photographed Feb. 20 by volunteers working with the Rainbow Sisters Project asked to be edited out of the finished television spot, said Kate Miller, the film’s director.

Miller was raped four years ago by two armed home invaders who also raped four other women in the house at the time, she said.

“I saw the need to show people that rape is not just a woman’s issue or a personal issue,” Miller said. “I wanted the community to know it happens to your wife, your mother, your neighbor.”

In the spot, Miller declares, “My world was changed the day I was raped.”

Filmed in a quick-cut, montage style, the women speak of strength, healing and the happiness of surviving.

Thursday’s audience gave the film a thumbs up.

“I know for once in my life I actually feel good about how I look,” Laurie Woolfe said of her spot on the film.

“But this isn’t about me; I’m getting through it,” said Woolfe, a 29-year-old receptionist from Hancock Park who was assaulted 20 years ago by a teenage baby-sitter. “I just want other people to get through it too.”

Pam Spencer, a 52-year-old Marina del Rey executive assistant, cried after the preview.

“It’s a powerful experience, a little overwhelming,” said Spencer, who was raped and beaten 23 years ago by a man who broke into her Kansas home at night. “To know people like these who have also been raped, there’s a mixture of pain and pride.”

Leaders of the Rainbow Sisters Project said it wasn’t easy recruiting rape survivors to appear in front of the camera.

“About one in 20 said yes,” said project Co-Chairwoman Karen Pomer, who was assaulted by a serial rapist three years ago.

The April 17 event, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Central Library, is designed to support victims of sexual assault. Project leader Rosanna Hill said activities will include music, poetry and “stories of courage.”