Speaking Out on a ‘Silent Crime’

While sexual assault is largely considered the “silent crime” because more than 70% of rapes are never reported to police, high-profile cases such as Kobe Bryant’s have brought the issue of sexual violence to the forefront.

Nightly newscasts and daily newspaper stories are bringing prominence to the issues of rape-shield laws, victim anonymity and postconsent rape, but few people are specifically taking a hard look at sexual violence in California, which victimizes more than 10,000 residents each year.

Many people think of sexual violence as an act committed by a stranger on an unsuspecting victim in an unfamiliar place -- a city park late at night or a deserted street. While sexual violence does happen under such circumstances, it occurs all around us and is often perpetrated by someone familiar to us -- a date, a live-in partner, a spouse.

A recent U.S. Justice Department survey found that more than 75% of female assault victims age 18 or older were raped and/or physically attacked by someone they knew, and nearly six out of 10 rape/sexual assault incidents were reported to have occurred in a familiar place. And gender is not a safeguard from sexual violence; males are also victims.

Whether the perpetrator is a co-worker, friend or celebrity, and no matter if the victim is female or male, adult or child, the issue is not so much who is involved in the case but rather what actions are committed.

Too many times, especially in cases involving a celebrity, the media coverage of the alleged crime exploits the titillation aspect -- thus reinforcing our society’s myth that rape is about sex when it is really about force and coercion by means of sex. But with these cases, we have an opportunity to educate the public about why the actions in question are examples of sexually violent behaviors.

Let’s keep the trials in the justice system, where they belong, and instead start considering the harmful attitudes, societal myths and social norms that lead to actions that are legally viewed as sexually violent. Perhaps fewer incidences of rape or sexual assault would occur if potential assailants knew the legal ramifications of their sexually violent behaviors.

At the same time, we must each promote healthy environments that discourage these crimes from occurring in the first place. We must assess our own actions and challenge attitudes and behaviors in our friends and colleagues that, if left unexamined, create an atmosphere of acceptance of sexual violence and reinforce the shame and continued victimization experienced by the victims.

We must rally to support the community-based rape crisis centers -- challenged by the current state funding and economic climate -- by giving donations and volunteer hours to ensure that 24-hour support and crisis intervention services continue to be provided to sexual assault victims. We must ask our legislators to provide resources, funding and legal protection to assist victims and implement prevention programs in our communities and on college campuses.

Let’s take the responsibility for preventing sexual violence off of the victims. It is possible to prevent sexual violence if we approach it together.

One victim is too many, but to have more than 10,000 Californians each year being sexually assaulted is simply unacceptable.

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Marybeth Carter is executive director of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), which promotes public policy, advocacy, training and technical assistance on the issue of sexual violence. Website: www.calcasa.org