Rape stats vary in Eugene
As bedroom attacks increase, many go unreported
By HEIDI SWfLLINGER
Of Mw bnaraW
"The woman said aha was attacked shortly
after 5 a.m when the man broke In to her apart
ment, deputies said. The suspect was described
only as a white adult of medium build."
The Eugene Register-Guard. Sept. 7, 1981.
Nearly half the rapes reported in Eugene
happen in the victim's home, says Gail Wiemann,
director of the Rape Crisis Network "The ones we
hear about mostly don’t occur on the street "
In fact, most rapes tend to involve acquain
tances of the victim, Wiemann says
This may explain why reported rape figures
vary so much between the Eugene Police
Department, which received 38 reports of rape in
1980, and the Rape Crisis Network, a support
group for rape victims that counseled 132 rape
victims in the same year
Even so, Wiemann says she is not certain
every rape that occurred in Eugene last year was
reported to her agency
"Rape is the most unreported crime all over
the nation," she says, citing FBI figures estimat
ing that only 10 to 25 percent of all rapes are
reported to the police
Why?
"If (a victim) is attacked on the street at night
and beaten, then they have a good case,"
Wiemann ;ays. "That's the kind of case that gets
prosecuted and more than likely will be won,"
But more than half the rapes reported to the
Rape Crisis Network occurred between people
who knew each other "When (the rapist) is
someone you know," Wiemann says, "it's harder
to prove "
Women don't report rape in that situation,
she says, because they're afraid "he'll be
believed first."
Or they're afraid of retaliation.
Or, Wiemann says they figure "it's not going
to do any good — that few (rapists) get to court or
get convicted ”
She calls this idea a misconception
"A lot of rapists get caught. The question is,
how vigorously are the police going to pursue it?
The DA and the police want to find out if a case
will hold up in court ”
Rape is difficult to prove in court, she says
"There are all kinds of things that don't stand up
well in court, but they're scary as hell "
For instance, a woman who gives in to a
rapist without a struggle because he has threa
tened to harm her children may fear that juries will
view her surrender as consent
But under Oregon law, first-degree rape is
defined as forcible sexual intercourse by a male to
a female, which may include threats of severe
bodily injury or death to the victim or to a third
person (such as a child), says Marcia Morgan,
coordinator of the Lane County Sheriff’s Rape
Team
Under state law, Morgan says, women don't
have to prove they fought back during the rape if
they gave in because they were afraid of their
attacker's threats
Another reason women are afraid to report
rapes is they are afraid of embarrassment.
Television scenes in which a woman’s past sexual
history may be dragged out in court and used
against her are inaccurate, Morgan says Ac
cording to state law, a woman's past sexual
experiences may not be brought up in court
unless it is determined by the judge outside the
courtroom that her past experience is relevant to
the case
An example of "relevant’’ would be if a
woman had intercourse with her boyfriend on
Saturday night and was raped on Sunday morn
Continued on Page 36B
Mmrnm.
Emerald Graphic
Experts talk about
prevention tactics
By HEIDI SWILLINGER
Ot flw EmaraW
There is no sure-fire method
for preventing rape, says Mar
cia Morgan, coordinator of the
Lane County Sheriff's office
Rape Team
"You cannot rely on one
thing," she says. "Each per
son and situation is different.”
Spray chemicals that have
received much promotion in
recent years may be effective,
Morgan says, but the shelf life
is only about a year. Women
may carry an unused can of
chemical deterrent for a cou
ple of years, only to have it fail
when it’s needed because the
spray has lost its potency.
Continued on Page 6B
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