"Only 27 percent of the women whose sexual assault met the legal definition of rape thought of themselves as rape victims." (Warshaw, 1994, p. 26)
"1 in 4 women surveyed were victims of rape or attempted rape. 84 percent of those raped knew their attacker. 57 percent of the rapes happened on dates." (Warshaw, 1994 p. 11)
"About 75 percent of the men and at least 55 percent of the women involved in acquaintance rapes had been drinking or taking drugs just before the attack." (Warshaw, 1994, p. 44)
"42 percent of the rape victims told no one about their assaults. Only 5 percent reported their rapes to the police. Only 5 sought help at rape-crisis centers." (Warshaw, 1994, p 50.)
FLAWS IN "JANE DOE RAPE KIT" INITIATIVE
I applaud the new Federal "Jane Doe rape kit" initiative, but there is another equation here. What about those women who are traumatized and do not seek initial help or gather evidence? What about the women who do come forward, yet do nothing about the crime?
In many cases of rape, the victim may just want to 'forget about it' and move on. An example would be a female college student who was raped by a friend or date. They are thinking, "I was drunk." "No one will believe me." "I flirted with him". The self accusations are endless.
Will these women take the initiative to get something like this done...IMMEDIATELY? Being raped is traumatizing enough, but to have to go through the whole rape kit examination is replaying the ordeal over and over again.
There are many women out there who would utilize this...but I'm afraid there are more out there that won't use this opportunity. Depending on the woman and the circumstances of her rape, a majority of women NEVER report this crime. It is a misperception that women are raped by seedy, Ted Bundy-ish strangers. In fact, most rapes occur between two people that know each other. Unfortunately, a lot of these women want to move on. They believe that they can "deal with it" in their own way and get over it.
That is where I think this "Jane Doe" rape kit initiative is seriously flawed. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink
Jane Doe Rape Kits---Effective or a Waste?
ELKTON, Md. - Starting next year across the country, rape victims too afraid or too ashamed to go to police can undergo an emergency-room forensic rape exam, and the evidence gathered will be kept on file in a sealed envelope in case they decide to press charges. (However, a "ER forensic rape exam DOES and WILL occur no matter if you are a "Jane Doe" or not. Just because the contents are "sealed" doesn't undermind the fact that some stranger has a big bright light on their vagina, prodding and poking with swabs, taking pictures, and asking questions.)
The new federal requirement that states pay for "Jane Doe rape kits" is aimed at removing one of the biggest obstacles to prosecuting rape cases: Some women are so traumatized they don't come forward until it is too late to collect hair, semen or other samples.
"Sometimes the issue of actually having to make a report to police can be a barrier to victims, and this will allow that barrier to cease, to allow the victim to think about it before deciding whether to talk to police," said Carey Goryl, executive director of the International Association of Forensic Nurses. (What happens if it takes too long? What are the planned statute of limitations? A judge, jury, and prosecutor will believe that after a certain amount of time memories will get fuzzy or misconstrued. It's still a "his word against mine" world. I see this as a huge flaw.)
The practice is already followed at some health clinics, colleges and hospitals around the country and by the state of Massachusetts. But many other jurisdictions refuse to cover the estimated $800 cost of a forensic rape exam unless the victim files a police report. (Another reason to not have this done. Just the thought of being "forced" to file a police report is devastating. Now some rules want the victim to FORCE file a police report? The last thing the victim wants to go through at that moment are details, names, places, what she was wearing, how much she had to drink, etc. The legal burden rests on her. Rape is not like any other crime. It's a crime of humiliation and a crime that the victim has to prove WAY BEYOND a reasonable doubt. )
States will have to pay for kits
Beginning in 2009, states will have to pay for Jane Doe rape kits to continue receiving funding under the federal Violence Against Women Act, which provides tax dollars for women's shelters and law enforcement training. States will decide how many locations will offer anonymous rape exams and how long the evidence should be kept.
Emergency rooms typically use a "rape kit" to collect evidence for use by police and prosecutors. It consists of microscope slides, boxes and plastic bags for storing skin, hair, blood, saliva or semen gathered by a specially trained nurse. The victim's injuries are also photographed.
What makes a Jane Doe rape kit different is that it is sealed with only a number on the outside of the envelope to identify the victim. Police do not open the envelope unless the victim decides to press charges. (And as I asked before, when would that happen? 6 months? 6 years from now? Memories on both sides deteriorate and are obviously contradicting as it is. Will this hinder the project unless strict guidelines are followed?)
The FBI has recommended such an option since at least 1999. "The idea is to collect the evidence now, while it's still there," said Scott Berkowitz, president of the national Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. The new requirement applies only to adult victims. Hospitals and doctors must still report incest or abuse involving children to the police.
In Cecil County, authorities started offering Jane Doe kits four years ago, after a rape victim recanted. Anne Bean, clinical director for a rape and sexual assault counseling program in Cecil County, said giving women the option of keeping police out of it until they are ready to press charges is crucial.
Most rapes not reported to police
According to the U.S. Justice Department, 272,350 sexual assaults were reported in 2006. The same survey estimated that only 41 percent of rapes and other sexual assaults are reported to police. (If you know anything about sexual assault, you would know that these statistics are not reliable. I would bet my last penny that less than 41 percent of sexual assaults are reported. That number is obviously disfigured as compared to other studies...all of which are unreliable due to underreporting.)
"Many times, you have people who were drunk, maybe doing drugs, maybe they're underage, and you start talking about the police and they get scared," Bean said. "So, sometimes it's not until long after they're willing to report, at which point of course any physical evidence is gone." (Why, instead of going to the hospital, teach a woman how to give her own rape kit test? She can take pictures of her own injuries. She can keep her undergarments in a brown paper bag. She can cotton swab her vaginal area and place it in a plastic bag. She can write down IMMEDIATELY in a journal what happened. The best mind can remember more from an evening ago, rather than a year later.)
Massachusetts officials had no immediate figures on how many rape kits were collected anonymously there, or how many were ultimately opened. In Allegany and Cecil counties in Maryland, evidence is kept at least 90 days. (THREE MONTHS? Most women can't even get their head clear at three months. 90 days may as well be 90 minutes. This isn't a "normal" crime here...this crime deals with violence to the person...to the soul...personal violence that is so embarrassing and humiliating that to discuss it is almost absurd. Not too many women are bold enough to go after justice through the court system.) So far, 13 women have submitted anonymous evidence, and none has returned to press charges. (My point was????)
Still, hospital and police officials credit an offer of Jane Doe testing with encouraging a reluctant victim in Cecil County to undergo an exam. During that process, she decided to report the crime, and her attacker was successfully prosecuted.
"Just to let people know this option is out there is good, to say, 'It's OK, you don't have to prosecute if you don't want to,'" said Kathleen, a rape victim in Pennsylvania who spoke on condition her full name not be used. (Why is it that one who is a victim of a rape has the choice whether or not to prosecute? A person who assaults someone causing injury will be prosecuted whether the victim wants that person arrested or not. Why do all these different rules apply for the same heading: VIOLENT CRIME? Rape IS a violent crime.)
Giving victims the option
Kathleen underwent an exam after being raped in Virginia in 2004, but her rapist was never found or charged. Kathleen said she wasn't offered anonymous reporting, but she has met rape victims in group therapy who regret not going for an exam.
"They're embarrassed. They don't even go get tested for STDs because they're so embarrassed," Kathleen said. At Union Hospital in Elkton, forensic nurse Chris Lenz said Jane Doe testing is not offered unless a medical professional fears the victim will leave without the option."Of course we encourage reporting. That's what we would like. But when they're adamant they don't want to report — if we think, 'She's going to walk out if she has to go through with this,' — that's when we offer it," Lenz said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24600171/
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