Students Stopping Rape

Myth Shrouds the Truth Behind Sexual Assaults

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by Carol Mosely
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A woman reported to the UCSB police that she was assaulted in a remote parking lot at UCSB at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18. Upon further investigation, she retracted her story. The retraction feeds the myth that women lie about being assaulted. Although this incident was not a sexual assault, the truth is that false reports of sexual assaults occur no more than false reports of any other crime - approximately 2 percent of the time according to the FBI. This story provides an opportunity to think about other myths regarding sexual assaults and why the most common sexual assaults - acquaintance assaults - are not often reported and are rarely covered in the media.

What actually happened in this case is unknown. However, we do know that in the majority of acquaintance assaults, the survivor is reluctant to report for fear she will not be believed, or that she will be blamed or because she blames herself or finds it too painful to say that someone she trusted violated that trust.

If something happens that a woman is unable to talk about, she may choose instead to tell a story that she knows will be taken seriously and believed. We live in a world where the myth is strong that women are in danger from strangers, in the dark, alone - that the strangers use weapons and usually the strangers have dark skin. If a woman wants to be believed and not blamed, and to get a sympathetic reaction, then she must tell a story that matches what the world around her wants to believe is true.

The actual truth is that 85 percent of the assaults on women in the United States are committed by a male acquaintance. In the UCSB community, that number is even higher. Stranger assaults are rare in our community, but acquaintance assaults happen far too often. Yet stranger assaults are put on the front page of the newspaper and acquaintance assaults are almost never addressed in the media. Women are told they must take precautions such as staying in well-lighted areas and traveling in groups - not bad suggestions, except that they obscure the real problem. A typical assault in our community is committed by the man she asks to walk her home.

Carol Mosely is the coordinator of the Rape Prevention Education Program.

Panel Points to Intoxication as Major Factor in Sexual Assault

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Take Back the Night took over the Hub on Tuesday afternoon to discuss sexual assault in the Isla Vista community and its relation to alcohol use.

Panel members included a TBTN representative, UCSB’s Rape Prevention Education Program coordinator, a UC Police Dept. sergeant and three representatives from the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. The panel was originally scheduled in the MultiCultural Center, but due to low student turnout, it was moved to the UCen Hub from noon to 1 p.m. in order to reach more students. Panel members spoke about the prevalent role alcohol plays in sexual assault, and asked the audience for their input on the issue.

Carol Mosely, UCSB Rape Prevention Education Program coordinator, said the majority of rape instances in I.V. occur when the victim and perpetrator know one another, and this familiarity contributes to the use of alcohol.

“[Most I.V. rapes] happen when people are with an acquaintance, and that’s why we’re linking sexual assault and alcohol,” Mosely said. “Stranger assaults are very rare in I.V. It’s usually an acquaintance - a friend of a friend, someone they met at a party. There’s a lot of trust in a university community. In the U.S., 80 to 90 percent of sexual assaults that occur are acquaintances.”

A woman who is under the influence of alcohol or any other drug cannot legally give consent for sex, UCPD Sgt. Suzanne Malloy said. However, many rapes go unreported because women often feel guilty if alcohol was involved, according to SBRCC advocate Silvia Urive.

“In a lot of cases females do not report sexual assaults because they were drunk, and they think, ‘What are [the police] going to say?’ There’s a lot of guilt attached to sexual assault,” Urive said. “When a woman is drunk, or on drugs, it doesn’t count against her - it counts against the person who committed the act.”

TBTN co-Coordinator Tara Goddard said a community’s attitude toward intoxicated females plays a large role in the occurrences of rape.

“One of the major fallacies is that if a woman is drunk, she’s somehow less worthy of respect. Why is there that dividing line?” she said. “You see a drunk girl walking down the street and say ‘Oh, she’s trashed. Oh, she’s gonna get what’s coming to her.’”

Malloy said the I.V. Foot Patrol often arrests intoxicated women who are walking with men they don’t know well. Mosely encouraged I.V. residents to take more responsibility for themselves and their friends when partying.

“I think it’s really important to address the fact that in I.V., you see a lot of people drinking and the more alcohol one consumes, the more inebriated a woman is, the harder it becomes to say no,” Mosely said. “If you see someone drunk you have three things you can do: One, you can ignore them, two, you can help them, and three, you can take advantage of them. … Unfortunately, the first and third happen a lot more than the second.”

TBTN Week will continue today at 3.30 p.m. when the Rape Crisis Education Group will reenact a mock rape trial at the MultiCultural Center.

Week Highlights Rape Awareness

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Students and faculty began to take back the night Monday with a noon rally in Storke Plaza, kicking off a week of sexual assault awareness.

Approximately 100 students attended the opening Take Back the Night (TBTN) rally in Storke Plaza to hear the band Buttcheek Doofus and various speakers talk about rape and sexual assault. This year, TBTN, an international weeklong movement to stop sexual assaults, is also celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The week’s goal is to present a forum for people to openly discuss issues of rape and sex crimes, UCSB TBTN Co-Chair Tara Goddard said.

“Come out, participate and discuss,” she said. “Your voice will be heard.”

Goddard said she was impressed with the turnout at Monday’s event, especially as it coincided with the numerous Spring Insight tours that serve to orient potential UCSB students to the campus.

“The kick-off rally really sets the tone for our whole week as far as getting our message out there,” she said. “We have Spring Insight people coming by. It’s fun to give people a taste of what’s going on with TBTN before they’ve even started school here.”

Volunteers from UCSB’s chapter of TBTN sold T-shirts displaying this year’s theme: “Rising from the Ashes: Empower, Educate, Evolve,” and CDs featuring the music of TBTN performers.

Junior psychology major Sunitha Chandy, a member of the Gaucho Christian Fellowship, said it is important for people from all communities to come together to fight sexual assault and rape.

“We haven’t been sharing how sexual assault affects us,” Chandy said. “It affects all of us.”

Lauren Hansen, a junior communication major and Alpha Phi sorority member, said it is time for those involved in the Greek system to join forces with organizations like TBTN. “We should put our differences under a rug and work together for this great cause,” she said.

Sociology instructor and speaker Judy Taylor said heterosexual women have a responsibility to all females to be more active than they traditionally have been. Taylor emphasized the need for women to stop gossiping about one another in order to allow for the unity of women.

“Lesbians have done more for straight women than straight women have done for themselves,” she said.

Jeff Bucholtz, a member of UCSB’s Men Against Rape, emphasized the need to let women speak.

“Take Back the Night is not about men, except that men need to take responsibility for sexual assault,” Bucholtz said. “Women are raped by men; men need to help to stop sexual assault.”

Monday’s event began a weeklong series of speakers, workshops and musical performances. TBTN Performance Chair Stephanie Molen said she encourages everyone in the UCSB community to attend one of the activities.

“There are a lot of creative moments where people will have the opportunity to heal and educate,” Molen said.

Today, TBTN will host a sexual assault panel at the MultiCultural Center at noon, followed by a performance night and open mic at 7 p.m.