Support for rape victims

An 18-year-old female SIUC student reported she was sexually assaulted in the early hours of Oct. 17. Unfortunately, she didn?t report the rape until Tuesday night. Now it is highly unlikely the police will be able to garner enough evidence to arrest him.

This semester, the Voices section has been devoted to a variety of issues, but one that has come up time and again is rape. Many readers and columnists have already debated where the fault lies. What has been left out of the argument is so many rapes go overlooked and unreported and what a victim can do following a rape to better secure that her violator will be brought to justice.

According to teenoutreach.com, victims of rape should write down as many details as possible while waiting for the police to arrive. Peculiarities in speech, mannerisms or dress are helpful to police.

As dirty as she may feel after being raped, bathing or even changing clothes or cleaning up her appearance can be considered destroying evidence and can hurt a criminal case.

While being interviewed by the police, a rape victim must try to remain as calm as possible. Embarrassing questions will be asked, but they are being asked in order to build a case. After being interviewed, victims should request to be admitted to a hospital - where more embarrassing questions will follow - for further examination.

Once the rapist is caught, victims have to decide whether or not to prosecute. This decision can only discourage a rapist from attacking again. Reporting and prosecuting a rapist is no doubt a hard thing. It will bring bad memories and pain flooding back.

While we highly encourage all rape victims to report the crime to the police, we understand the pain and guilt that comes from doing so. Thus, reporting a rape is clearly a personal decision.

When Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old resort worker June 30, the entire world was enlightened on the victim's sexual history within a matter of days. Unfortunately, she, too, waited five days until she filed a report with the police.

The media and public scrutiny she has come under since she reported it may have her regretting she ever set foot inside the Eagle County Sheriff's Department. Her fear that the public would react the way they did is probably one of the reasons she hesitated to report the rape. It is probably the reason many women decide not to report a rape.

But why should women feel as if they have to hide a crime of which they were the victims? In Illinois, a convicted rapist can serve up to 60 years in prison. In this case, rape is punishable by life in prison, yet she has to defend herself and her past at every turn. Her "friends" are even speaking to the press about her.

We have also seen this girl's reputation be dragged through the mud repeatedly by Bryant?s defense lawyers. Having her sexual past put on display is enough to make many women shy away from reporting the crime and even pretending it never happened.

But if no one reports sexual assaults, then the rapist will continue to reap the same terror in other circles. Reporting the crime is one small step toward preventing him from raping again.

As Domestic Violence Awareness Month draws to a close, women shouldn't feel trapped behind public opinions. For that matter, neither should men who are raped because although we have referred to the rape victim as "her," we realize men, too, have been and can be raped.

Despite all the worries that come with reporting a rape - that you won't be believed, which stems partly from those who have cried wolf; that your sexual past will be fair game for public scrutiny; or simply that he will get away anyway - it is vital that violent crimes, such as rape, do not go unreported. After all, it is only from the courage of those who have fallen victim that others will be spared the same pain and suffering.

After the rape occurs, many women undergo severe emotional trauma. Rape Crisis Counseling can be contacted at the Women's Center in Carbondale at 618-529-2324 or the 24-hour crisis hotline at 800-334-2094.

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