Street roots
April 13, 2012
Oregon’s misplaced priorities harm crime victims
BY N A IVA SH A DEAN
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
regonians, it’s time to talk about sex.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness
Month, a time for Oregonians to talk
about sexual violence, the needs of
survivors, and ways to prevent sexual
violence. This year’s
theme, “It’s time ... to
talk about it,”
encourages people to
have conversations about
sex that promote healthy
behaviors and encourage
safe relationships.
In honor of Sexual
Assault Awareness
Month, we thought it would be useful to
demystify the topic as well as talk about
some structural changes Oregon needs to
make in order to get more serious about
violence prevention.
Most sexual experiences are consensual
and safe. Unfortunately, not all are - last
fall, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) released a broad-scale
report on sexual violence. The researchers
found that more than 27 percent of Oregon
women have been raped at some point in
their lives (that’s one in four Oregon
women). Only Alaska had higher rates of
sexual violence than Oregon.
When looking at the CDC’s research
results nationally, there are a number of
findings that can help guide strategies to
better prevent sexual violence and help
survivors thrive. Most survivors of rape are
young at the time that they are harmed —
approximately 80 percent of female victims
were assaulted before the age of 25 and
almost half were raped before age 18. While
popular crime TV shows may portray sexual
violence as committed by a stranger lurking
in a dark corner, most survivors know the
person who harmed them — more than half
of female rape victims were harmed by an
intimate partner and 40 percent were
harmed by an acquaintance.
These findings may seem startling
compared to how sexual violence is usually
O
SAFETY and
JUSTICE
Naivasha Dean is the
membership
coordinator for
Partnership for Safety
and Justice. PSJ is a
statewide, non-profit
advocacy
organization
dedicated to m aking
Oregon’s approach to
crime and public
safety more effective
and more just.
portrayed on TV and in the media. Most of
the high-profile cases involve a young, white
child who is assaulted by a stranger. These
high-profile cases catch the public’s
attention and often sound a call for action,
usually for a new law that increases the
penalty for offenders. Accountability for
offenders is an important part of a
comprehensive response to sexual violence.
But increased penalties alone don’t get to
the heart of the problem of sexual violence.
And the more that the system focuses on
increasing prison sentences, the less likely
the system is able to focus on the other
important parts of a comprehensive
response.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice
Statistics, the majority of sexual assaults -
approximately 63 percent — are never
reported to the police. Not all of these
reports will lead to a case that is prosecuted
and even fewer of those cases will result in
a conviction. The majority of sexual violence
survivors won’t see the person who harmed
them spend a day in jail or prison. But in
Oregon, most of our public safety dollars -
over 60 percent — are spent on corrections.
This out-of-balance spending leaves little for
other vital parts of our public safety
response, such as victims’ services, law
enforcement, drug and alcohol treatment,
and the courts.
Consider this: Oregon is spending over
$1.3 billion on prisons this biennium, but
dedicated state funding for domestic and
sexual violence services is less than
$5 million. This is a stark contrast and a
grim picture in regard to how we are
prioritizing our public safety spending. To
be clear, our misplaced priorities have a
very serious impact on the lives of real
Oregonians. Life-saving programs are not
went unmet because programs were under
funded.
Many survivors and victim advocates are
calling for a change to
Oregon’s out-of
balance approach to
public safety. These
In 2010, Oregon's domestic
survivors and victim
advocates want to see and sexual violence programs
answered more than 169,000
an increased
investment in
calls for help related to sexual
programs better
violence, domestic violence
equipped to build safe and stalking. In response,
and healthy
programs sheltered more than
communities like
5,000 people. Tragically,
increasing access to
nearly 23,000 requests for
victims’ services and
creating a system
shelter from violence went
more focused on
unmet because programs were
prevention than
under-funded.
punishment.
Survivors deserve
greater access to
services. Many
survivors have to deal with physical,
psychological, and financial consequences,
and ripple effects are often felt throughout
the survivor’s family, friends, and
community. Some crime survivors need
outside assistance to rebuild their lives;
unfortunately, not all will be able to access
services. Survivors who are unable to
access the help they need are at increased
risk of further victimization, mental health
issues, poor school or work performance
and suicide.
Thankfully, Oregon has a network of
domestic and sexual violence programs
across the state that provides lifelines to
victims of sexual violence and their loved
ones. These programs provide victims with
the tools necessary to become survivors —
getting the resources they need.
In 2010 alone, O regon’s dom estic and
sexual violence program s answered m ore
shelter, safety planning, counseling, medical
accom panim ent and legal advocacy. This
infrastructure needs to be strengthened.
call the statewide
than 169,000 calls for help related to sexual
violence, domestic violence and stalking. In
response to these calls, programs sheltered
more than 5,000 people. Tragically, nearly
23,000 requests for shelter from violence
So, Oregonians, let’s talk about sex this
month and how sexual violence affects us
all. Let’s also talk about the need for Oregon
to invest more state resources that help
protect and support survivors.
crisis line at
888-235-5333 for
free, confidential
support.
Survivors can
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