Oregon daily emerald., November 30, 1973, Page 3, Image 3

Rape Forum
Discuss victims rights, problems
By ELLEN KYLE
Of the Emerald
“Tonight we’re going to talk
about rape,” said Pat Horton,
District Attorney. This began the
two-hour Rape Forum, attended
by a capacity crowd in the EMU
Dad’s Room Wednesday night,
Nov. 28.
The idea for the forum
originated in the D.A.’s office,
and was sponsored jointly by the
University Feminists and the
ASUO. It is the second in a series
that Horton is presenting to
further public education and
awareness of different problems
in the community and how to
handle them.
Four speakers made up the
panel—Janie Burcart, a Ph.D.
candidate in sociology, who is a
recognized local expert on rape;
Jack Baraggar, a detective
representing the Eugene Police
Department; Wayne Allen, a
defense attorney from the firm of
Biggs and Allen; and Pat Horton.
The format was informal:
After a brief introduction by each
of the panelists, the remainder of
the time was spent answering
numerous questions from the
audience.
One thoroughly discussed
subject was the rape victims by
by police and courts. Many times
a woman is considered to have
Burcart pointed out the class
bias present in our legal system.
Juries are usually made up of
middle to upper-class citizens,
mostly men. A lower-class rapist
usually gets convicted, while one
from the middle-class has only a
one-in-four chance of ever getting
a conviction.
Although it is common for a
rape victim to have her sexual
past brought before a jury, a
defendant’s life can not be
mentioned in court. “This is just
one discrepency in our laws
proving they are stacked against
women,” stated Burcart. She
said that many defense lawyers
who know their client is guilty try
to get him off by browbeating the
victim.
Allen disagreed, saying a man
has the right to a trial, and a
lawyer’s primary objective is to
defend his client by trying to put
the victim on trial. “A client
deserves the best defense he can
get,” stated Allen, although he
said he would not sympathize
with a rapist. He didn’t feel it was
right for a woman’s prior sex life
to be brought up in court, but
until it became illegal he said he
would not “pull the punches” on a
client.
One woman in the audience
announced the recent formation
of a Rape Crisis Center, to deal
with the problem of rape in the
areas of education, prevention,
and psychological problems of
the victim. So far the group has
initiated, through White Bird, an
emergency transit service for
women. It lasts throughout the
week, from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30
a.m. Anyone interested in helping
should call 345-9895.
Many facts were brought out
during the discussion. For in
stance, did you know that the
majority of rapes in Eugene
occur from 11th to 19th, between
Oak and Alder? That the number
of rapes are growing although
less women are reporting them,
and that rape is not considered
rape unless ejaculation occurs?
Or that forced oral sex is not
considered rape but sodomy, and
so is male rape involving
homosexuality? Or how about the
fact that, according to current
Oregon law, it is impossible for a
man to rape his wife, even if she
files a complaint against him;
and the same applies to couples
who are living together.
Horton said he intended to help
all he could, to remedy the
situation, saying, “our penal
systems are inadequate, and law
enforcement agencies are the
first to admit how bad they are.”
But, as he pointed out, social
change is a slow and arduous
Members of the Rape Forum panel answer
questions from a capacity crowd in the EMU Dad's
room. Panel members are, from left to right, Janie
Burcart, a doctoral candidate in sociology; Wayne
Allen, Eugene defense attorney; Pat Horton, Lane
County district attorney and Jack Baragger, a
detective representing the Eugene Police Depart
ment. Panelists answered a variety of questions on
Photo bv Susan Miller
subjects like who is considered a “legitimate” rape
victim, the legal system’s treatment of the rape
victim and the precise legal definition of rape. The
Forum was the second in a series of programs that
Horton is presenting to further public education and
awareness of problems in the community and how
to handle them.
“asked for it” by dressing V
provocatively or walking in a 1
sexy manner. ]
According to Burcart, this is
called a legitimate victim. “A
woman is accused of having
instigated the attack if she goes
out at night alone or, in the case
of Eugene, goes in a ladies’
restroom alone,” said Burcart.
A rape victim’s moral
character is closely questioned
and her prior sexual activities
also dragged into the issue.
According to Burcart, a woman
could be considered immoral by a
jury if “she is not a virgin or if
she entertains a man after dark,
which is not hard to do these
days!” Horton felt the victim’s
credibility would be weakened if
she had previously had in
tercourse on more than one
occassion, or with more than one
person. Allen felt there was no
cut-and-dried basis to judge by,
although his example of im- i
morality was having sex with k
three different men in one month. 1
Meet U.S. Senator
BOB PACKWOOD at
FACULTY AT FOUR
An informal wine and coffee hour for faculty,
administration and staff at Wesley Center, 1236
Kincaid, Friday at 4:00 p.m., with the
Cooperative Christian Ministry staff.
Music by ED COLEMAN
and FRIENDS
r
LIFE SAKE NATURAL FOODS 1
30% DISCOUNT
ON ALL LIFE SAKE NATURAL
VITAMINS
2 Days only Frl. Nov. 30
Sat. Dec. 1
Life Sake Natural Foods ,r7„ Er
770 E. lie <0W AM«) SAS-S1SI
Mail Order Catalog Available
s
Indian Jewelry
Nov. 28-^
Dec. 1
WED.
thru SAT.
| OUR INDIAN TRADER
will be in the store Nov. 28-Dec. 1 showing his award-winning ]
I1 collection of fine Indian Jewelry by nationally known artists.
He will offer free appraisals of your Indian Artifacts and
Jewelry.
ALL ITEMS FOB SALE
HERB WOOD
JEWELERS
Specializing in Jewelry Repair and custom made Jewelry
-Manufacturing - Rings - Watches - Diamond Setting - Diamonds
- Watch & Jewelry Repairs - Indian Jewelry
92 E. BROADWAY
343-0022
Games...
for people who want to do more
than just read about great events
Now you can actually participate in those
great events, simply by playing Avalon Hill
games... games that are true-to-life recrea
tions of the real thing .. award-winning
games such as Gettysburg, Football Strategy,
Stock Market, Outdoor Survival that have
been eulogized by Life, Sports Illustrated,
Chicago Today, and Newsweek Magazines.
Play Avalon Hill games of skill, a lifetime of
pleasure lor under $10 00 See them today
on display in our store.
SPRINGFIELD
14M MOHAWK ELVD.
Mon. thru Fri. 12 noon 'til »p.m
Sat. 9 a m. 'til t p.m.
Sun. 11:30a.m. 'til 5:30 p.m.
EUGENE
10 Oakway Mall
M-F
Sat A Sun 10-4
77 W. BROADWAY
On The Mail
9:30 9:00Mon Fri
9:30 5:30 Sat
12 5 Sun
Games of skill by AVALON HILL, 4517 Harford Rd„ Balto., Md. 212U
Write for FREE brochure showing entire line of games'