Are rape victims subject to more scrutiny and skepticism than other crime victims?

Yes

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by C. Ann Cunningham

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Absolutely rape victims are subject to more scrutiny and criticism than other crime victims. We live in a society that is overwhelmed by sexual images and behaviors, and as a result of that, rape victims are looked at through a microscope unlike one that is used on any other crime, even though the act itself is not based in anything sexual.

The victim's entire life is scoured. Their past is examined and if she has ever had sex with anyone in the past, that colors the view of her instantly. If it is a case of date rape, they look at the clothes she was wearing to determine if she was too inticing or seductive looking. Even police officers can have their views of a victim colored by her past, because they are, after all, human, and human society and its way of thinking has a bearing on all of our lives. Is the accused rapist's background checked out as thoroughly? It is rare that the accused's past behavior is looked at. Is he known to be very aggressive ? Does he walk around making comments about women in general? Has he shown himself to have a hair trigger? These questions are important, because rape is not a sexual attack, but it is a show of strength and power. The only reason it is even looked at as a sexual offense is because of the body parts involved.

If the accused is actually arrested and charged, it is never with a crime of assault, battery, or domestic violence, which are what they are actually guilty of. No, the authorities perpetuate the myth that it is a sexual crime by charging the assailant with 'sexual' assault of varying degrees.

In at least one state, if a minor rapes another minor and there is less than three years difference in their ages, the assailant has to make a voluntary statement to the police in order for it to even be pressed into court. My own daughter experienced the horror of this type of violence, and the assailant was never prosecuted because she was thirteen and he had not yet reached his sixteenth birthday and he refused to make a statement. This vicious monster, who outweighed my daughter by at least a hundred pounds and was over a foot larger than her, was allowed to walk free because he would not make a statement regarding whether or not sex had even occurred. His mother made a statement to the police herself, claiming her son didn't realize it was rape, but that could not be used against him because he refused to talk. Until that moment, my daughter had no doubt that the justice system would make him pay for his actions. The truth shattered her world and she lost all confidence in the law.

Until we all learn to step up and make our voices heard that it is unfair to discriminate against a victim because of her past, her clothes, or the situation at the time of the attack, rape victims will continue to be treated as if they are the ones who did something wrong.

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