Earlier this month, President Barack Obama offered the first presidential proclamation in support of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which has been observed nationally since 2001.
“I urge all Americans to respond to sexual assault by creating policies at work and school, by engaging in discussions with family and friends, and by making the prevention of sexual assault a priority in their communities,” the president's proclamation states.
The proclamation refers to a study that found that 18 percent of women in the United States have been raped in their lifetime. In addition, a 2005 survey of high school students found that 10.8 percent of girls and 4.2 percent of boys from grades nine to 12 were forced to have sexual intercourse at some time in their lives. It also cites a study of college women that found that 13.7 percent of undergraduate women had been victims of at least one completed sexual assault since entering college.
The National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence welcomed Obama's action, saying it focused a national spotlight on a crime that impacts more than 270,000 Americans each year.
“We applaud President Obama’s firm commitment to combating sexual violence,” said Mary Lou Leary, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. “Every two minutes in our nation, a man, woman, or child is sexually assaulted.2 This proclamation will inspire policymakers, law enforcement officials, and the public to help reduce the prevalence of this terrible crime.”
On March 24, the Board of Supervisors offered a proclamation naming April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Lake County and April 23 as “Denim Awareness Day,” which is a time to call attention to ending sexual violence.
Sexual assault continues to be a very real threat for people across the nation, and here in Lake County as well.
Lee Perales, project manager for the Lake Family Resource Center's Rape Crisis Center – which provides services to sexual assault victims and survivors countywide – pointed to statistics that show sexual assaults are on the rise nationwide.
The Office for Victims of Crime's 2008 Crime Clock shows one person is raped every 1.9 minutes. The 2007 Crime Clock had that statistic at one person every 2.7 minutes.
Perales reported that the number of sex crimes reported in Lake County have increased while other crime statistics have shown decreases.
“It is difficult to say whether or not that means that the occurrence of sex crimes is increasing or the reporting of sex crimes is increasing since most studies indicate that sexual assault is the most underreported crime in the world,” Perales said.
A look at Lake County Sheriff statistics show an increase in reported sex crimes over the last several years. Numbers rose from 63 in 2005 to 66 in 2006 to 70 in 2007, a 10-percent increase over three years, according to Perales. Numbers for 2008 aren't yet available.
In 2008, 79 people contacted the Rape Crisis Center about having been sexually assaulted, a number that included both recent and past assaults, said Perales.
She noted that most victims contacting the agency are female, between the ages of 25 and 59, with youth under the age of 18 making up about 25 percent of the contacts with the center.
This year, the Rape Crisis Center is seeing an increase in contact with adolescents who have been assaulted, Perales added.
She explained that the center doesn't often see the victims of recent sex crimes, with their numbers a mix of unreported but recent sex crimes, along with reported sex crimes totaling about 20 to 25 percent and past sex crimes.
Perales said reports of past crimes can be triggered by a variety of things – from a television show to an assault on a family member. It takes some people a lot of time to realize that they're experiencing suppressed trauma from a past rape.
When those memories do come out, Perales said the Rape Crisis Center has counseling services available.
The majority of assault victims know their assailant, said Perales. “Frankly, very little of it is stranger assault,” she said, with very few rapes fitting the stereotypical profile of someone jumping out of the bushes to attack someone or beating a victim into submission.
US Department of Justice statistics show that three out of four sexual assaults are perpetrated by a person who knows the victim, while 90 percent of children under age 12 who are raped know their assailant.
It's also important to remember that men, too, are victims of sexual assault, usually by other men, said Perales. Locally, they receive few such reports, and over the last five years Perales said no cases of sexual assault with male victims were reported to law enforcement.
Just like their female counterparts, male sexual assault victims are reluctant to report the crimes against them due to fear of not being believed, embarrassment, not being clear about the fact they were assaulted and the overarching social stigma, Perales explained.
“There's another layer of that for men who have been raped by other men,” said Perales.
Perales said, ultimately, “It's really men's work to stop, to prevent rape.”
She said the Rape Crisis Center is calling on men who abhor violence against women to join in preventing sexual assault.
Society has a bigger part to play, she said. A victim isn't to be held responsible for rape because she work a short skirt, had too much to drink or traveled alone.
“The day society stops blaming the victim and puts the blame where it belongs, on the assailant, is the day that society will have said, in effect, 'No more,'” she said.
One good piece of news for California is the new 2009 State-by-State Teen Dating Violence Report Card, which grades each of the states according to how they protect teens of dating violence. One in three teens will reportedly experience abuse during dating relationships.
Conducted by Break the Cycle, a group that seeks to empower young people to end domestic violence, the report card gave California an “A” grade for making protection orders available to California's youth.
California was one of only five states to receive the A grades. The others were Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Oklahoma. In addition, more than 11 states failed.
The full text of President Obama's proclamation – which includes important sexual assault statistics and information – is below.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Sexual assault scars the lives of millions in the United States. To increase awareness about this issue, prevent future crimes, and aid victims, this month we mark National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Sexual assault is pervasive in the United States. Study after study has shown that this crime impacts people at all age levels and in every part of this Nation. One recent study found that 18 percent of women in this country have been raped in their lifetime. In addition, rates of sexual assault remain startlingly high for students from high school to college. A 2005 survey of high school students found that 10.8 percent of girls and 4.2 percent of boys from grades nine to twelve were forced to have sexual intercourse at some time in their lives. A study of college women found that 13.7 percent of undergraduate women had been victims of at least one completed sexual assault since entering college. Unlike victims of sexual assault in the larger community, students victimized by other students often face additional challenges in a "closed" campus environment. For example, a victim may continue to live in danger if the perpetrator resides in the same dormitory or attends the same classes. These statistics are all the more alarming given that, according to recent research, a majority of victims do not report their attacks to police.
Victims of all ages suffer from both the physical and emotional consequences of the attack. Sexual assault can lead to long-term health problems including chronic pain, stomach problems, and sexually transmitted diseases. It can also cause severe emotional harm that may be even more painful than the assault itself and resulting physical injuries. The effects of sexual assault go well beyond the direct victim: sexual assault also has a profound impact on a victim's family, friends, neighbors, and workplace.
Victims need an array of services to heal from the trauma of sexual assault, including crisis intervention, 24-hour sexual assault hotlines, medical and criminal justice accompaniment, advocacy, and counseling. Victim service providers are essential to this effort and work tirelessly to help victims cope with the trauma of sexual assault and transition from "victim" to "survivor."
Landmark legislation has helped fund these critical services. The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA, Public Law 98-473) established the Crime Victims Fund to fund services such as forensic sexual assault examinations and compensation claims for both adult and child victims. For example, since 1997, VOCA funding has supported the development of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs and multi-disciplinary Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART). The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA, Public Law 109-162) authorized the Sexual Assault Services Program, the first Federal funding dedicated exclusively to sexual assault services. The Program includes funding for culturally specific programs that serve victims who face unique cultural and linguistic barriers.
In addition to helping victims, offenders must be held accountable for their crimes. Sexual assault forensic examinations and trained examiners can ensure that victims are treated with requisite sensitivity and that critical evidence is collected to facilitate a successful prosecution. To this end, VAWA mandates that all States that accept Federal grants to combat violence against women ensure that sexual assault victims receive forensic examinations free of charge, even if the victim chooses not to report the crime to the police.
To make continued progress, my Administration supports efforts to help Americans better understand this issue. Working together, we can reduce the incidence of sexual assault and help all who have experienced this heinous crime.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2009, as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I urge all Americans to respond to sexual assault by creating policies at work and school, by engaging in discussions with family and friends, and by making the prevention of sexual assault a priority in their communities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
BARACK OBAMA
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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