Campus rape workshop
dispels myths, educates
By Michel* Matassa
OtttfEmmraU
The Lane County Sheriff's
Department is "notoriously
bad" in dealing with the plight of
rape victims, according to the
director of Eugene’s Rape Crisis
Network
At a campus rape workshop
last week, Network Director Gail
Wiemann discussed relations
with the county sheriff's
department.
"We have been told in the
past few years that things are
better in Lane County than most
places in the country. There
have been recent reports which
suggest that isn’t true," she
said
In one case, a 15-year-old
victim was called out of class
and questioned by police after
specifically asking that she not
be bothered at school, Wiemann
said
The department threatened
another woman with a sub
poena when she refused to
answer questions and submitted
a third victim to a lie detector test
because her story changed,
Wiemann said Victims often
contuse details when recovering
from such a stressful crime, she
said
Donna Lovewell, Sheriff Dave
Burk's chief deputy, said
Wednesday that the department
began investigation of
Wiemann's allegations this
week
She said the department was
not aware of any problems
before last Thursday or Friday
Without denying the accusa
tions, Lovewell said that such
behavior in dealing with rape
victims, is "definitely not our
policy.”
"We try to be sensitive to
those issues, " she said
She stressed that department
short-handedness is "not any
excuse," but added that "if you
have four officers doing the
work of 16, you sometimes don't
have the time to spend with the
cases ”
The workshop also touched
upon the medical aspects of
rape. Rape Trauma Syndrome
and ways to help a victimized
friend
“Rape Culture,” a film about
the dangers of society's casual
attitude toward rape, featured
the opinions of passers-by and
present and ex-convicts
The movie criticized the
theories that women “want”
rape and that rape is a "normal
acting out of male aggression
and female passivity ”
Most of the convicted rapists
in the film said that dominance
was their main motivation.
“It wasn’t the sex; it was the
domination” and "To conquer is
a conquest” were common
statements.
Wiemann also described the
medical examination a rape vic
tim encounters to acquire
evidence for the court proceed
ings, a process which she says
discourages many victims from
pressing charges.
Fibers, soil and pubic hair are
collected from the genital area
and kept in a "rape kit,” a card
board box with several
envelopes for the samples.
Tests of all body fluids are also
made; any evidence of
penetration is recorded or coll
ected.
Wiemann also discussed
Rape Trauma Syndrome, a
period of readjustment for the
victim in which support from
friends is extremely important.
She said the victim often feels
guilty about the rape and needs
to be reassured "that whatever
she did, it got her through the
situation alive."
Wiemann concluded the
session on a positive note.
"I hope it's helpful, and I hope
you don't ever need it.”
The third session, to be held
Thursday evening from 7-9 p m.
in 242 Gilbert Hall, will cover
incest and child sexual abuse.
Women plan to ‘take back the night’
An unspoken curfew in this
country keeps more than half the
nation's population locked up
after dark, according to members
of the Rape Crisis Network.
Women fear nighttime because
60 percent of all rapes occur dur
ing these hours.
Saturday, women from all parts
of the state will protest the curfew
and march to "take back the
night.”
The "Take Back The Night”
movement began in San Fran
cisco in 1978 to "protest all forms
of violence against women, " says
Evelyn Anderton, co-planner of
the march
Anderton and 13 other organ
izers from the University and
community plan to lead a march
through two miles of what they
consider to be Eugene’s most
dangerous areas. Similar
movements are planned in Salem
and Roseburg
"We want women to be able to
go out at night safely for once
without male protection,"
Anderton says
Marcia Kraus of the Campus
Women's Referral and Resource
Center says the highest rape in
cidence occurs in the University
area.
"People think that rape is con
fined to sleazy perverts in bushes
They think that college kids never
rape or get raped," she says.
Gail Wiemann of the Rape Cri
sis Network agrees that the cam
pus is a dangerous place for
women at night
"Students feel comfortable with
students, but most rapes are
acquaintance rapes,' and there
are more rapists under 20 than
ever before, ” Wiemann says.
Living in a society in which one
out of three women is raped
sometimes causes women to
' ‘block out fear in day-to-day life,"
Anderton says. Instead, they
choose to live with the violence
and the unofficial curfew.
Workshops sponsored by the
Rape Crisis Network and the
campus YWCA are scheduled
from 10 a m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at
Harris Hall
Workshops will deal with rape
prevention, pornography, vio
lence and sexual harrassment.
Other workshops include a self
defense demonstration, a discus
sion of feminist erotica and a
men's panel on violence against
women.
Men are invited to the work
shops but are asked not to march.
A rally begins at 7:30 p.m. at
Harris Hall. The march follows,
winding its way through the
downtown area, the University
area and back to the hall.
For more information, call
344-5273 or 485-6746.
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