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a university experience offers young women many
rewards, unfortunately, there are also significant
dangers, and one of these dangers is men who
are sexual predators. Acquaintance rape is a
sexual assault perpetrated by someone who is
known to the victim. It is a violent and serious
crime that is far too common an occurrence at
our institutions of higher education. It is
imperative that women in colleges and universities
become informed about 1) the crime of acquaintance
rape; 2) precautionary behaviors to try to prevent
becoming a victim of acquaintance rape; and
3) learn procedures to follow after an acquaintance
rape has occurred, in order to successfully
prosecute the offender.
Introduction
Each year, young women leave
the security of their familiar surroundings
and attend college and universities in distant
cities and locations. These women are embarking
on a journey, filled with hopes for joy and
happiness, as they seek an academic education.
Many of them are also seeking to find the "special"
someone with whom they will share their future
lives. The campus environment, therefore, provides
for academic stimulation, as well as a variety
of activities and opportunities for socialization.
While a university experience
offers young women many rewards, unfortunately,
there are also significant dangers, and one
of these dangers is men who are sexual predators.
These men could be official students, or men
who just attend campus activities in order to
meet their next victim. A serious and violent
sexual crime, acquaintance rape, is far too
common an occurrence at our institutions of
higher education. Acquaintance rape is a sexual
assault perpetrated by someone who is known
to the victim. It is imperative that women in
colleges and universities become informed about:
1) the crime of acquaintance rape; 2) precautionary
behaviors to try to prevent becoming a victim
of acquaintance rape; and 3) learn procedures
to follow after an acquaintance rape has occurred,
in order to successfully prosecute the offender.
Statistics
A survey from the United States
Bureau of Justice reported that in three-quarters
of all rapes and sexual assaults against women,
the perpetrator is know to the victim (U.S.O.O.J.,
1995). A college survey conducted by the National
Victim Center reported that one in four college
women have been raped or suffered attempted
rape (Bureau of Justice, 1992). In another college
survey, half of the college men reported that
they engaged in some form of sexual aggression
on a date (Bureau of Justice, 1995). These reports
indicate that young women are at considerable
risk of becoming a victim of an acquaintance
rapist.
The Acquaintance Rapist
Unfortunately, one cannot identify
an acquaintance rapist on the basis of his appearance.
He could be anyone, from a classmate, a science
laboratory partner, a boyfriend, or just the
nice guy that lives in the apartment next door.
While acquaintance rapist cannot be identified
by their appearance, they do engage in certain
behaviors in order to win the confidence and
trust of their victims. The primary goal of
the acquaintance rapist is to increase the victim's
vulnerability. He is highly manipulative and
may make such promises to her as "pinning,"
engagement, love, and even marriage. He may
also choose to use alcohol and/or drugs in order
to incapacitate the victim, rendering her incapable
of offering him any resistance during his sexual
assault. The acquaintance rapists also significantly
increases the victim's vulnerability by manipulating
her into a situation where she will be alone
with him. This can be achieved by being alone
with her at her or his residence or in a car.
Even if she is at a fraternity party, or a sport's
event where there are many other people around,
he still could take her into a room, or a secluded
place outside, where she is ultimately alone
with him.
Alcohol and Drug
Another form of manipulation
the acquaintance rapist may use is to give his
potential victim alcohol and/or drugs, in an
effort to eliminate her ability to resist his
sexual attack. Alcohol intoxication can render
her unconscious, as well as the ingestion of
several types of drugs, which are colorless,
odorless, and tasteless. These drugs, therefore,
can be slipped into the victim's drink, where
they dissolve within seconds.
There are several drugs, referred
to as "date rape" dugs that have powerful
sedative effects and can incapacitate the victim
within 20-30 minutes after ingestion. The sedation
could last for up to 24 hours. These drugs are:
Rohypnol (street name, "roofies:), GHB,
Gamma Hydrobutrate (street name, "g-juice"),
and Ketamine (street name, "Special K").
They are referred to as "date rape: drugs
because many rapists administer the drug while
on a formal date. However, these drugs could
be administered by anyone, at a bar or lounge,
at fraternity parties or at other college functions.
The symptoms, after ingestion of these drugs,
are similar to alcohol intoxication, such as
loss of motor coordination, slurred speech,
fatigue, confusion, and amnesia. Thus, the unconscious
and immobilized victim becomes an easy target
for the sexual assault. High doses of these
drugs can cause the victim to fall into a comatose
state and even cause death.
Amnesia Effect
These "date rape"
drugs are often the weapon of choice for the
acquaintance rapist, not only for their sedative
effects, but because the victim also experiences
"amnesia" within 15 minutes after
ingestion. As a result of the "amnesia
effect," the victim may wake up, naked
and in unfamiliar surroundings, such as an apartment
or fraternity house, however, she will be
unable to remember taking any
drugs or even what happened to her. Therefore,
the victim is unable to provide valuable information
to the police in an investigation and subsequently,
a successful prosecution of the rapist. In addition,
these drugs are quickly eliminated from the
body, and often not detectable in the victim's
bloodstream, which further hinders any police
investigation and prosecution.
Specific Precautionary
Behaviors
There are several precautions
young women can take in order to reduce their
chances of becoming a victim of an acquaintance
rapist. The following recommendations focus
eliminating on any opportunity for her to be
alone with a potential offender by using a "buddy
system."
Buddy System
The "Buddy System"
can be very helpful to avoid becoming an acquaintance
rape victim. With this method, friends can look
out for each other in social situations. Some
suggestions include:
- stay with a girlfriend to
avoid a dangerous situation
- be aware of becoming isolated
- do not let your friends
out of sight
- if a friend appears especially
intoxicated after drinking a beverage, and
appears confused or too compliant, take steps
to ensure the friend's safety
- alert friends to high-risk
places and situations, such as clubs where
known date rape drugs have been used
Also, young women need to be
extremely alert, whenever they are attending
any campus function, or when they are at bars
or lounges where alcohol and other types of
beverages are served. Some suggestions include:
Alcohol and Drugs
- Watch your consumption of
alcoholic beverages, especially when other
people are drinking.
- Do not put yourself at risk
by drinking enough alcohol to become intoxicated.
- Be careful about accepting
alcoholic beverages from someone you do not
know or trust.
- Do not accept drinks from
an open container.
- Never leave your drink unattended.
- Never share or exchange
drinks.
- Do not drink from a punch
bowl.
- If you are at the bar, monitor
how your drink is being prepared.
- Buy bar drinks in bottles,
if possible, because they are harder to tamper
with than wide-mouth glasses.
Behaviors to Follow
After Being a Victim of Rape
Unfortunately, although women
try to be alert to their surroundings and to
the various male friends or lovers they may
know, they can still become victims of acquaintance
rape. Even though the rape victim is extremely
traumatized and emotionally distraught, it is
important that she rationally try to follow
some procedures in order to preserve CRITICAL
evidence, should she decide to press charges.
Physical specimens collected soon after the
sexual assault will be valuable evidence. Therefore,
some suggestions include:
- do not shower, bathe, wash,
douche, or attempt to clean yourself
- do not change your clothes
- do not urinate, as traces
of drugs can be found in urine
- if you drank from a glass
or can, take it with you, along with the offender's
glass
Medical Attention
Acquaintance rape is a serious
violation of every woman's personal rights,
and it causes her to experience severe emotional
as well as physical injuries. The young woman
should immediately go to a hospital emergency
room or the Campus Health Center. At the medical
facility, not only will she be treated for her
injuries, examined for venereal diseases, AIDS,
and pregnancy, but valuable physical specimens
and evidence will be collected in order to insure
a successful prosecution of the offender.
Reporting Acquaintance
Rape
Acquaintance rape, unfortunately,
is all too often an underreported crime. In
a college survey, only one out of twenty-five
women reported a sexual assault (U.S.D.O.J.,
1995). Rape is considered to be the most underreported
violent crime in our nation (U.S. Bureau of
Justice, 1997). In particular, with acquaintance
rape, because the victim and offender are known
to each other, the victim finds it more difficult
to accuse the perpetrator. It is much easier
for a rape victim to blame a stranger than a
known attacker. There are several reasons that
rape victims give for not reporting acquaintance
rape.
- confusion as to whether consent
was given, because of the trusting relationship
with the offender
- fear of further injury or
retaliation from the offender
- fear of police scrutiny
and judgment of the victim's behavior, credibility
and history
- fear of facing the reactions
of family and friends, husbands or possible
lovers
- self blame-she may irrationally
believe that she did not do all she could
to prevent the rape
- feeling several overwhelming
emotions, such as shame, humiliation, embarrassment
and degradation
The Federal Bureau of Investigators
legal definition is "carnal knowledge of
a female forcibly and against her consent"
(U.S.D.O.J., 1995). Women need to understand
that being pressured by someone into having
sexual activity with him, even if he is someone
she knows, it is still rape, a very serious
crime. Also, a woman who is intoxicated, either
by alcohol and/or drugs, is not considered to
have given "legal consent" to any
form of sexual activity. It is imperative that
women report acquaintance rape, not only to
begin the healing process, but it lessens the
chances of other women being victimized. Rapists
rarely attack only one woman. If they are not
caught and successfully prosecuted and punished,
they will continue to rape. By reporting the
offender to the police and the campus authorities,
the rape pattern could be broken. It is also
very important that the acquaintance rape victim
have someone who will be comforting and supportive,
accompany her to the police station, where she
will be assisted in filing a police report.
Counseling
Even if the rape victim does
not report the rape to the police, it is still
critical for her to receive counseling, preferably
by a trained rape crisis counselor at the university's
counseling center or a mental health facility.
Many victims suffer serious emotional damage
after a rape. Victims have been diagnosed with
Rape Trauma Syndrome and Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. The rape victim displays a variety
of symptoms such as: self-blame, anxiety, humiliation,
guilt, depression, shame, anger, nightmares,
and fear for their personal safety. Counseling
and psychological therapy are essential to the
recovery process for all acquaintance rape victims.
References
(1.) Bureau of Justice Statistics
Bulletin, National Crime Victimization Survey,
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, 1996
(2.) U.S. Department of Justice,
Preventing Violence Against Women, Washington,
D.C., June 1995; 14:77, 78.
(3.) National Institute of Justice
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention,
Incidence & Consequences of Violence against
Women: Funding from the National Violence Against
Women Survey, November 1998.
(4.) Report of Felony Sentence
in State Courts and Bureau of Justice, 1992.
(5.) United States Department
of Justice, Violence Against Women: Estimate
from Redesigned Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Special Report, August 1995.
(6.) Unites States Department
of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics,
National Crime Victimization Survey. Criminal
Victimization 1996: Changes 1995-96 Week Trends,
199396, November 1997.
FELICIA F. ROMEO, ED.D.,
PSY.D. Clinical Psychologist Professor Florida
Atlantic University
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