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Want More Sexual Assaults to be Reported? Stop Blaming the Victims and Fix the Justice System

By Grace Fastovksy '24



In cases of assault in children, 64% of children were assaulted by an acquaintance. This is one of many shocking statistics about sexual assault, which many don’t hear about. Victims of sexual assault would be more comfortable speaking out if we as a society kept the blame off the victims and made the justice system more fair and effective towards those cases.

The facts are clear. According to The National Organization for Women: New York City, every 98 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the US. The organization also informs us that 63% of assault cases are not reported to the police. This shows the issue of the number of sexual assault cases compared to the number of cases that are not reported. According to the New York Times, “Two-thirds of police officers interviewed had no training on how to read and interpret sexual assault kit results.” Basic minimum training is not given to police officers when it comes to handling sexual assault crimes, clearly demonstrating that these cases aren’t taken seriously by the justice system.

Some people say that the person may have been “asking for it” by wearing seductive clothing. However, the clothing or actions of a survivor may play in, but do not determine if they will be assaulted or not. In any case, whatever the survivor may have been wearing or may have been doing at the time, it is never an excuse for other people’s actions. These blames on victims are rooted deeply in sexism. Furthermore many people who are assaulted are ones who did not fit these cookie cutter scenarios of assault. Take children for example, they were minors, wearing children’s clothing, who were likely to be assaulted by an acquaintance. These survivors being assaulted has nothing to do with revealing clothing or “asking for it.”. If someone was mugged in the street, you wouldn’t say it was their fault because they were carrying money. So why should this be any different for people who are assaulted?

As a maturing women, I have experienced sexual harassment many times, and I couldn’t begin to understand the trauma that a survivor may experience after being sexually assaulted or raped. Imagine having to share your trauma, to attempt to get justice from a system that you do not trust, and actively works against you, only to be denied, and for your assaulter to walk free. We need to start questioning how fair our justice system truly is, and what changes we would want to see… including the improvement of the training of police officers, practice of trauma informed responses, sexual assault policy considerations, investigative procedures, criminal justice and community partnerships, such as child protective services, and so much more. Overall, we need to start questioning the ways of thinking that have been rooted into society in order to help survivors feel safe reporting their experience to law enforcement. Maybe then, we would find an increase in cases being reported and justice being served.



Sources:


National Organization For Women New York City. “Get the Facts: Rape & Sexual Assault in the IIIIIIIIU.S.” NOW, https://nownyc.org/issues/get-the-facts-take-rape-seriously/


Safronova, Valeriya, and Halleck, Rebbecca. “These Rape Victims had to Sue to Get the Police IIIIIIIIto Investigate”. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/us/rape-victims- kits- IIIIIIIIpolice-departments.html. May 23, 2019


Police Executive Research Forum. “Executive Guidebook: Practical Approaches for Strengthening Law Enforcement’s Response to Sexual Assault.” https://www.policeforum.org/assets/SexualAssault. May, 2018.


David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer, and Andrea J. Sedlak. US Department of Justice. “Sexually Assaulted mmmChildren: National Estimates and Characteristics.” US Department of Justice. https://www.ncjrs.Mmm gov › pdffiles1 › ojjdp. August, 2008.

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