‘ 'But the zealous interest the police frequently
exhibit the physical details of a rape case is only
partially in explained by the requirements of the
court. A woman who is raped in Berkeley was
asked to tell the story of her rape four different
times''Right out in the street, "while her assailant
was escaping. She was then required to submit to a
pelvic examination to prove that penetration had
taken place. Later , she was taken to police station
where she was asked the same questions again:
*‘Were you forced?'' ‘'Did he penetrate?” “Are
you sure your life was in danger and you had no
choice ? ’' This woman had been pulled off the street
by a man who held who held a 10-inch knife at
her throat and forcibly raped her. She was raped
at midnight and was not able to return to her
home until five in the morning. In her words,
“The rape was probably the least traumatic incident
of the whole evening. If Tm ever raped again, . . .
I wouldn ’t report it to the police because of all the
degradation ..."
“Rape is an act of aggression in which the victim is
denied her self-determination. It is an act of violence
which, if not actually followed by beatings or murder,
neverless always carries with it the threat of death.
And finally, rape is a form of mass terrorism, for the
victims of rape are chosen indiscriminately, but the
propagandists for male supremacy broadcast that it is
women who cause rape by being unchaste or in the
wrong place at the wrong time — in essence, by
behaving as though they were free.
Quotes reprinted from "Rape: the
All-American Crime" by Susan
Griffin, Ramparts, Sept. 1971
(Continued from Page 12)
herself up, the police lose physical
evidence.
What does Moreland suggest a
woman should do if she is being at
tacked? “If the man is in her house a
woman must play it by ear; she can
make a judgment on whether or not to
submit to it or fight. Out on the street a
woman should scream, kick, scratch,”
Moreland says.
DA’s hope for fight
The District Attorney’s office, and
the prosecuting deputy D.A.’s hope
a woman will fight—and show visible
marks of it.
Lane County Deputy D.A. Dave
James says he’d rather prosecute a
rape case where the woman has been
injured: a slashed arm, a broken ankle,
a black eye.
Police gather the evidence; the
D.A.’s office makes the decision on
whether or not to prosecute the case.
The criminal procedure of a rape or
any other case runs something like
this:
1. The police bring the case over to
the D.A.’s office. A preliminary
decision is made on whether or not to
charge the accused. In District Court
the accused is told his rights and
assigned a lawyer if he needs one.
2. A preliminary hearing is held as to
whether the accused ought to be bound
over to the Grand Jury. If the D.A. has
enough evidence this hearing does not
preclude the D.A. from going straight
to the Grand Jury.
3. I he Grand Jury decides whether
or not a crime has been committed. It
may bring back a “true” or “untrue”
bill and may reduce original charges.
From here on the charge is formal.
4. The actual trial may be reset
several times due to inevitable
problems, James explains, a witness is
out of town or sick, a policeman has to
testify in another case, etc. Felonies
are tried in Circuit Court,
misdemeanors in municipal or district
court.
The criminal procedure can drag on
for up to three or four months, James
says. A raped woman can expect to tell
her story several times to the police, to
go through several D.A. interrogations,
to testify at the hearing, to be
questioned by the Grand Jury, to be
interviewed before the trial and then to
be put through questioning again at the
open trial.
And, James admits, “the woman is
on trial. The jury is testing her morals;
how willing she is to sleep with anyone
— her promiscuousness.”
The question is, James says, how
much force does a woman have to do to
stop this? Let’s say she was put in
fear, the problem is in proving force.
The less a woman does the harder it is
for us to prove force.” This explains
why the D.A. likes to see physical in
jury on the woman, and on the rapist.
While the woman’s morals are on
trial, “it is inadmissible evidence to
talk about the morals of the man,”
James says. Nor can a man’s prior
convictions be shown as a tendency to
commit a crime. “They can only be
used to weigh the credibility of the
witness if he testifies on the stand,”
James says.
James says the D.A.’s office may use
the lie detector test, inadmissible
evidence in court, to test the sincerity of
the raped woman’s statements and as a
result in deciding whether or not to
prosecute the case.
James points out that the jury takes
the woman’s actions into serious
considerations. Hitchhiking girls “are
unfortunately taking a chance” of
getting raped in the most juries
estimations, he says.
The legal breakdown of sex crimes:
Rape I—Intercourse in which there is
physical force or threat of force or the
victim is under 12 years old. Maximum
sentence 20 years.
Rape 2—Intercourse where the
victim is incapable due to mental in
capacity to consent, or is under 14 years
old. Maximum penalty 10 years.
Rape 3—Intercourse with someone
under 16 years old—no force. Similar to
the former “statutory rape” charge.
Maximum penalty five years.
Rape is a felony.
Sexual abuse or sexual contact:
Sexual Abuse 1—Threat or force is
used, or victim is under 12. A felony.
Sexual Abuse 2—Victim is under 18 or
lack of mental capacity as above. A
misdemeanor.
Other misdemeanors: contributing to
the sexual delinquency of a minor,
sexual misconduct (both for engaging
in sexual or deviate intercourse with
someone under 18), and public in
decency.
Horton: “difficult to prove”
District Attorney-elect Pat Horton
recognizes rape as “one of the most
difficult crimes to prove — and one of
the easiest to allege.”
As a presecuting attorney, Horton
says, the answer is a better attitude by
the prosecution: “try to pay more
attention to the victims and listen to
them more.”
“To say there should be more rape
prosecutions is a reactionary type
attitude,” Horton says.
He advocates instead “listening in
good faith to the victim. There is a
tendency by the prosecution and by
police to interject their own morals into
the handling of the case.” Horton calls,
for example, the number of men a
woman may have slept with irrelevant
in whether or not she has been raped.
But Horton admits he has served as a
defepse attorney for men charged with
rape and from that point of view he
cites a problem that it is difficult for the
jury to have any sympathy for the
defendant. And Horton points out there
may be “other motivations which led a
witness (the woman) to tell a story
which may or may not be true.”
This is the law’s attitude — it’s no
wonder Y expresses worry. Y says,
“I’m afraid that if I was attacked again
my record would be held against me.”
Y’s only record is that she has been
attacked in the past — and her assailant
got away with it.
X, too, talks about the legal aspects of
rape. “The scariest thing,” she says,
“is that most women don’t know” about
the legal hassles. “The Grand Jury’s
move made me a liar — I shouldn’t
have to turn to violence” to see justice.
The Women’s Clinic, held Sunday
evenings at White Bird Clinic, wants to
organize a rape squad to offer coun
seling and advice to raped women.
Interested women can contact Linda
at :144-:I341, can leave a message at
White Bird or can come to Women’s
Clinic, 5 to 9 p.m. at 341 E. 12th.