Wednesday, August 18.1976
5
Peer support helps rape victims
By MARILYN HAYES
One evening, in the spring of 1972, a woman named Pat Henry was the victim of an attempted rape. She sought help from the University of Kansas police department, but after she didn't believe her. The police took her to the scene of the assault to describe the incident.
Henry then went to Watkins Hospital where she also received what she believed to be callous treatment. This insensitivity continued through the court system.
As a result of her experiences with the police, hospital and court, Henry came to believe, according to Kathy Hoggard, member of the Douglas County Rape Victim Support Service, that peer support would be helpful to the rape victim.
Henry wanted to change the way medical equipment reacted to assault victims. Horgard said.
In the fall of 1972, Henry organized the Lawrence Community-University of Kansas Rape Victim Support Service. The service consisted of about 30 volunteer women. It was organized through the Women's Coalition, the most radical women's organization on campus at that time.
The group encountered several problems at first. Officials were reluctant to work with the radical feminists who were in the campaign against Women's Coalition, according to Hogward.
The size of the group also hindered its progress. Because the group was large and loosely organized, Hoggard said, there was little sharing of learning and little opportunity for volunteers to develop relationships with the officials with whom they had to work.
By fall of 1973, the size of the group had dwindled to fewer than ten, she said, and this facilitated communication and made the volunteer feel more responsible for the service.
The service also began working more closely with the KU Dean of Women's office, which enhanced the credibility of the group, and enhanced the University hospital and police, alq said.
In the fall of 1972, a series of "on the street" assaults by a male assailant had begun. Police were having no luck in their investigations. As a result, they were more willing than they ordinarily would have guarded said, to work with an outside group.
The increased number of assaults meant increased contact between the service and the police. As the police came to see the usefulness of the volunteer services, they were more willing to work with the Service, according to Hoggard.
"We are constantly striving to maintain a good relationship with the Lawrence Police department, who have proven to be very good at defending the rape victim's needs." Hoggard said.
The name of the service was changed in the fall of 1975 to the Douglas County Rape Victim Support Service, she said. This was done to indicate the increased focus and to ensure that the County Commission on Criminal Administration (GCCA) and the County Commissioners.
The Service, which consists of nine women and one man, assists victims of rape, assault, incest and children who have been sexually molested. It also gives factual information on what to expect from the police, hospital and courts, which will help the victim decide whether to go to court, Hoggard said.
"We will stick with the victim as long as she or he needs us, which can take as long as two years, if the victim should decide to take it to court," she said.
The service also counsels non-immediate cases—women or men—who have been sexually assaulted 30 to 40 years ago and have suffered a difficult time dealing with it, Hoggard said.
"We also counsel parents of rave victims," she said, "because the way parents deal with their children in this situation is very important."
To become a member of the service, according to Casey Eike, a staff member of the service, you must undergo a screening process. Each candidate is interviewed "to find out what their attitudes and sensitivities are," she said.
The staff member will then go through training that involves going with another staff member who is assisting a rape victim.
The service also meets one a week to share written reports on cases, recent articles, personal research and assign responsibilities, Hoagard said.
The service can be reached through the KU Information Center and Headquarters. There is no fee and confidentiality is strictly maintained, Hoggard said.
"We do not even mention names to the other staff members," she said.
University Daily Kansan
"The Douglas County Rape Victim Service is a two-member, second staff member, a staff member of the service, "it not only offers victim education and educational programs to the community."
The service talks to classes and community groups about rape, its preventatives
The service also acts as a model for the (GCCA) grant, Kansas Community Rape Prevention and Victim Support Project. The project's purpose is to help communities set up rape victim support services, according to Eike.
and how to deal with someone who has been raped, according to Hoggard.
A training conference is scheduled October 25 for communities that are interested. Eikes
A film that "talks about different aspects of the crime (rape) and how people can protect themselves in their day-to-day living," was made this summer as an event for young adults, said the film. An attempt is to break some myths concerning rage, she said.
The Rape Victim Support Service offers a few suggestions for avoiding rape.
—Be aware of possible rape situations.
Be alert when you are alone.
In general:
Be discrete about your personal plans.
Consider what you would do if attacked.
Check for any identifying marks.
—Lock doors and windows.
—Never open your door to a stranger.
—Ask person for identification.
—Ask repairmen for identification.
List initials and last name on mailbox.
-Check back seat of car before entering.
-Lock doors when driving or parked.
—List initials and last name on mailbox and in telephone directory.
If you are followed, do not go home;
do to a busy area or to the police station.
- Stay close to the curb and away from alleyes, bushes and doorways.
—Walk purposefully; even when you are lost, appear alert and confident.
Hitchhiking : Hitchhiking is the situation with greatest potential for rape.
—Heard for the nearest乱人 or people if someone is following you.
- If you must hitchhike, be extremely cautious with whom you accept a ride.
cautious with whom you accept a ride. Don't harbor to despair to reach.
Don't hesitate to decline a ride.
If you are attacked the service advises—don't panic. Your goal is to catch. Try to attract attention. Scream. Blow a whistle. Run. Surprise your attacker by immediately and briefly attacking him; stomp on his instep, burn him with a cigarette, scrape his face with your keys—the should loseen his grip so you can run.
If you cannot escape—your goal is to stay alive. Try talking your attacker out of it; say you have venereal disease or that you are undergoing surgery. Don't provoke an armed attacker.
If you are overcome--memorize your attacker. Concentrate on his distinguishing characteristics: age, height, scars, clothing, voice.
After the attack—immediately by the police or the Rape Victim Support Service. Rape Victim Support persons will help you even if you don't wish to report to the police.
Don't destroy evidence by bathing or changing clothes. Get immediate hospital care. Take a change of clothing. Write down details about the assault and the incident
Emergency phones, which will connect the caller to the KU police when the receiver is 14 and available at 18th and 26th floors, are located south entrance to the "X" parking zone; on the dam at Potter Lake; across from the dam at New York State Park Hill Kit. adiacent to Nunumberger Center.
The emergency phones are mounted on blue lighted poles.
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If a prisoner can't afford to buy his trial transcript, he must state why he needs it. According to Browning, this, in effect, allows him to have better memories than the affluent."
From page 2
Defenders
Although the Court ruled against the defendant, the Court's hearing of the case was significant for prisoner rights, Browning said.
"There are far more cases that don't make it to courts," he said, "but every case is as important as the next and every prisoner is as important as the next."
The project has been funded by the Law Enforcement Administration Assistance, state and private grants and the KU Student Senate.
"Prisoners don't have the funds to retain lawyers, so we are their only recourse," Steve Ruddick, another student director of the project. said.
McFadden said inmates learned about the project through the grapevine or from his legal problems, and he helped with their legal problems. The prisoner submits an application to the project and a student sets up an initial interview, he said. Funding of the project has always been a challenge.
---
McFadden said at the very minimum, tundra were needed for traveling expenses, piles of garbage and
The project asked the Student Senate for
the last fiscal year and received
$850.00.
"We need 13 cents a mile for traveling expenses and we're getting a nickel. Our funds aren't adequate for one trip per student for next semester," he said.
"It was an honest budget and we didn't inflate it," he said.
"It seems silly that the K.U. rugby team gets more money than we do," McFadden
McFadden said he thought that the project benefitted law students and brought prestige to the University and that several students have as a direct result of the defender project.
McFadden and Crabtree said that working with prisoners had only strengthened their feelings about the penal system.
"Prisons are not for rehabilitation. People are beginning to grasp the realization that prisons are purely punitive," Crabtree said.
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