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Author Topic: T&T's Top Ten Rape Myths  (Read 619 times)

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Offline weary1969

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T&T's Top Ten Rape Myths
« on: July 07, 2011, 08:54:26 AM »
By By Cedriann J Martin



Fact: sex offenders often get away. A minority of rape survivors turn to either the police or support services. Reasons range from shame to fear to a lack of confidence in our legal system. Nevertheless, last year there were 632 reported cases of rape, incest and other sexual offences according to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service's Crime Statistics Database. From January to May this year the tally is 221. What happens with these cases?

Convictions for rape are scandalously few. According to the Police Service from 2003 to 2009 conviction rates were between one and three per cent. Older numbers from the Central Statistical Office show a massive gulf between the number of offences reported and convictions secured. In 1998, for example, there were 572 reports and 466 arrests but only six convictions. Given the lengthy delays in investigative and court processes the cases resolved in a given year do not relate to the reports made during that period. But the numbers still tell a story: if you commit a sex crime in T&T you probably won't get your just desserts.

There are a number of reasons why sexual offences are difficult to prosecute. They happen in private and there are usually no witnesses. In the absence of physical evidence it's the ultimate he-said, she-said showdown. But according to one legal source when it comes to the interplay of sex, violence and gender the misconceptions and prejudices of juries are significant stumbling blocks.


Myth #1: Women often cry rape

Until 1996 where there was no independent evidence to support an accuser's story the judge rattled off a corroboration warning which stressed that rape allegations were easy to make, hard to prove and sometimes made up by women for reasons known only to themselves or for no reason at all.

"It was unjust to women and it stereotyped them as irrational, vengeful creatures," the lawyer said. The practice has been stopped but the perception persists.

Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) statistics from the 1990s and a British Home Office 2005 study both revealed that around eight per cent of cases were "unfounded". One criticism levelled against these findings is that they conflate false reports and cases with insufficient evidence. A three year Australian study of cases with sufficient information found a false report rate of just two percent.

Rape Crisis Society Counselor, Maureen Murray, criticises the culture of suspicion regarding accusers: "At the end of the day it is about how congruent the story is. But to start with the position that women are likely lie is unfair and unfounded."


Myth #2: Rape is about sex and

Myth #3: Rape has a look

When former International Monetary Fund (IMF) head, Dominique Strauss Kahn, was indicted for sexual assault and attempted rape in May, one of the arguments trumpeted by skeptics was that so rich a man didn't need to go there: he could buy all the sex he wanted.

There are many stereotypes about who rapists are and what they look like. People expect them to be poor, young or unappealing. By the same token there is also an expectation that survivors be attractive.

"You hear defence attorneys say 'he is not a bad looking fella'," the attorney said. "But if rape was primarily about sex only attractive women would get raped and only ugly men would bother to do it."

Murray corroborated: "We have 83-years-olds being raped and five-year-old children being sexually abused. It is about control and violence."

Clinical psychologist and Chairman of the Caribbean Male Action Network, Dr Peter Weller, said the question of what motivates rape involves an interplay of sex, relationships, culture, gender and power.

"Rape is sex without consent. If one makes someone do something against their will it is the use or abuse of power. So yes," he resolved, "rape is about power. Clearly they (rapists) feel the need to display their control over someone more vulnerable or who they wish to feel vulnerable. Some will have a sense of entitlement: they are supposed to get what they want. Some may bear ill will towards the victim and use the rape as punishment. Others may be acting out fantasies that have little or nothing to do with the specific victim. Misogyny! It's all about power and getting what you want despite how others feel."


Myth #4: No bruises? No rape

and Myth #5: Submission = consent

Juries have bought the argument that if there are no battle scars then there couldn't have been an offence. There are several reasons why there might not be physical trauma. Apart from the fact that survivors don't always report rape immediately, they simply might not have put up a fight.

"If I make a split second decision that this man is likely to kill me if I struggle, I am going to do what I must to survive. I can't outrun a gun. I might make a choice not to resist to get it over with as soon as possible, with as little damage as possible," Murray insisted. (The lawyer pointed to cases in which rapists led survivors to believe that there were weapons although there were none.)

Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr Spencer Perkins, explained that it may not always be possible to get evidence in gynaecological areas.

"A menopausal person's passage would tend to be less lubricated so you're more likely to get some evidence in those cases. On the other hand women who have had children via vaginal deliveries may not necessarily have any evidence of trauma," he said.

The legal source added that the rapist might have a small penis or there may not have been full penetration. An enduring 19th century standard formed at common law is that "the merest penetration" qualifies as rape. This is particularly important in child molestation cases.


Myth #6: The survivor's

story shouldn't change

With the burden of proof lying on the prosecution rape cases hinge on a survivor's credibility. Naturally the best witness is one who is very consistent. Yet our legal source said that there are very few cases in which there are not changes in the account. There are three opportunities for an accuser to relate her story before a case goes to trial.

"You don't immediately know what is important in a court case. You might find that that piece of information you had in your head is significant after all," the source said.

Murray added that in a state of trauma survivors may not be able to think clearly: "there will be things you overlooked or forgot initially that resurface in counselling and with time."

Dr Jacqueline Sharpe, a psychiatrist, said that survivors' difficulty in recalling details may be "related to psychogenic amnesia" (the apparent inability to recall the details of the events). (See Myth #9)


Myth #7: Survivors

should be a wreck

"People want a victim to look like a victim when she comes to court. If she looks too put-together or seems too intelligent and accomplished or doesn't cry, they don't trust her. They want to see a broken woman," the legal source said.

Because of the lengthy investigative and judicial process before a case goes to trial many survivors would have been able to pick up the pieces. Often cases of child molestation or incest come to court when the survivor is an adult.

Murray explained that once survivors access help they are capable of repairing their lives: "You never forget when something like that happens to you but your life can go on and go on well."


Myth #8: Most rape is

committed by strangers

It's increasingly understood that in cases of child sexual abuse offenders are overwhelmingly known by their targets. Yet in cases of sexual assault against adults the stereotype of strangers lurking in the shadows persists. Date and acquaintance rape are prevalent. Weller pointed to the mindsets that are inculcated in Caribbean men when it comes to sex and relationships. He called for examination of attitudes like 'no means yes' and the belief that men's sex drives are "forces of nature" that can't be stopped.

"Interestingly many don't think of a horny boyfriend who doesn't stop when his girlfriend says no—even after "heavy petting" like oral sex and even when they have "done it before"—as a rapist. Most people would probably agree that the man in the alley or burglar was a rapist. The boyfriend? Not so much. Is there a difference between the two scenarios? Of course there are many differences. But the one constant is that the woman did not want to do what the man wanted to do," he said.


Myth #9. There is a

right way to respond

Sharpe explained that the way someone behaves in the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault "will vary with the individual's personal characteristics". Reactions can range from calm or apparent control to numbness or severe distress. Not everybody runs screaming to the first person they see.

Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is a special form of Posttraumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) in which the rape victim suffers from symptoms caused by the experience of sexual assault. It is thought to have phases and in some people lasts for years.

"It does not have to occur immediately after the assault. If the victim seeks professional help immediately after the rape, she will be less likely to suffer from symptoms of rape trauma syndrome (RTS). The early crisis intervention support such as that provided by the Rape Crisis Centre will decrease the probability of RTS developing," Sharpe noted.

Signs and symptoms include reliving the trauma, avoiding stimuli that remind of the event, psychogenic amnesia, numbing of responsiveness and impairment of functioning.


Myth #10. Women make men rape

In April protest marches called "Slut Walks" were sparked when a Toronto police officer said that to reduce rape "women should avoid dressing like sluts".

"Victims are often stigmatised about their own behaviour, attire, sexual life and mental health," said Sharpe. "These questions directly impose the blame on the victim." The attorney stressed that in no other class of crime—from robbery to murder—is there a kneejerk reaction to blame the aggrieved party.

"We get the same attitudes from the public no matter how much we try to educate. People still say 'it's the way these young girls are dressing now'. My answer is that it might be easier to take off a mini skirt than a pair of jeans but at the end of the day nothing excuses someone from violating another person in that way," Murray noted.

Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

 

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