Speakers assembled in the Student Union Wednesday to address the misconceptions surrounding rape, sexual assault and domestic violence in the world today.
"Statistics show that rape is happening," said Rebekah Williams, the program coordinator for Hi-Niagara Frontier Council, one of the event's sponsors. "Our main goal here today is to get the word out that we're working to end it."
The statistics are frightening, only 10 percent of rapes are ever reported according to Rebecca Stevens, the training specialist for the Crisis Services Volunteer Advocate Program. Also according to Stevens, there were 300 rapes reported in Erie County last year, though many more occurred without being documented. Eighty percent were women ages 18 to 24
Stevens went on to say that depictions of rapists as predators randomly attacking women are inaccurate. Ninety percent of the women who filed reports were victims of acquaintance rape, meaning they knew their attacker. Additionally, 85 percent of the acquaintance rapes reported involved alcohol, not date-rape drugs, as a factor.
"Rape is a crime, and sex is the weapon used to commit that crime," Stevens said.
As an employee of Rape Crisis Services, Stevens provides medical and legal assistance to victims as well as counseling. Since 95 percent of the victims are women, their concerns after the attack are whether they are pregnant or have STDs.
"Rape is the only crime where victims have to pay for the collection of evidence," Stevens said. Rape kits cost $600 to complete, but victims can contact the Crime Victims Board for full reimbursement of the cost of the kit, as well as lost wages and hospital bills.
According to campus police officer Amy Pedlow, none of the 300 reported rapes in Erie County were filed with campus police. Proxy reports can be filed online through UB's University Police website, and victims will be contacted for a follow-up.
Filing police reports is essential, especially because many rapists are repeat offenders said Jane Fischer, the director of Sub-Board I Health Education. Statistics show that there is only one arrest for every twelve offenses.
The Valentine's Day program was divided into two halves. The first dealt with the different forms of violence against women across cultural borders, the second provided resources for students on college campuses.
"Violence is not accepted in other cultures. It's a universal problem," said May Shogan, the International education coordinator for schools and agencies needing diversity training.
Shogan spoke about a worldwide effort to outlaw violent practices against women in the Middle East, such as honor killings. If a family suspects their daughter of having deviant sexual behavior, they may kill her to protect the family's name in exchange for a very light prison sentence.
Women of different cultural backgrounds who immigrate to the U.S. for safety face language barriers, isolation and the threat of deportation, Shogan said.
"Abuse is a personal issue in America, but (overseas) it is a family issue," she said.
Speaker April Arman, a member of Resources and Help Against Marital Abuse, dispelled the myth that violence against women is promoted in Islamic societies.
"Islam is a way of life. Everyone has the right to protection of life," she said. "Domestic violence is not allowed."
The most riveting story came from Rachael Williams, who graduated from UB with an MA in Social Work in 2004. While working on a Fulbright scholarship about the effects of the drug trade on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua, Williams was attacked by three men with machetes, tied to a tree and raped.
"I once made a promise to myself that I would rather die than get raped," Williams said. "But when I was tied to that tree, I was twenty-seven years old. I wanted to live. I had a right to live."
Few eyes were dry within the room as she detailed the attack and the aftermath. She was allowed to stay in Nicaragua until the trial thanks to a grant awarded from the It Happened To Alexa Foundation, a Rochester based group that funds the families of rape victims who need to travel to prosecute rapists.
"If I hadn't stayed, there would not have been a case," Williams said.
Despite the DNA evidence not being an evidentiary factor in the trial, the testimonies of a witness, the medical examiner and Williams were enough to win the case.
Dealing with such a traumatic event overseas had a silver lining. While Williams was cut off from family members, she was free from the stigma attached to rape victims.
"No one ever asked me if I knew my attacker, what I was wearing when it happened, or what time of the day it was," she said. "Victims of violent rape have less of a stigma than victims of acquaintance rape."
There are volunteer opportunities for students who want to take a proactive approach to ending the violence against women. UB boasts an Anti-Rape Task Force, an evening van service on South Campus, and a Men's Peer Education Program, whose male members take a pledge to do what they can to educate others and stop rape.
"We're happy that there are so many concerned students, faculty, and staff," Fischer said, "but there is so much left to be done."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
