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Letters to the editor: Believe and support victims of rape and sexual assault
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Ed-Op
As president of Drexel's chapter of One in Four, a national organization dedicated to reducing sexual assault and rape on college campuses, I am writing in response to the Jan. 30 article, "Student alleges sexual assault on campus." It is important that we promote a campus where survivors of sexual assault and rape are listened to.
When a person reports that they have been victimized, they must go through a lengthy legal process. This is not something that anyone likes or really chooses to go through. According to the FBI, if they compiled all the cases of rape that they receive in a year, only 2 to 8 percent of them are not viable cases - that means that at a minimum, 92 percent of the time when a person says they are raped, they were actually raped.
Take a moment and think about how you would react if one of your friends came and told you that they were raped.
Sexual assault victims are both men and women, heterosexual and homosexual, and all races and cultural backgrounds. One in Four works to educate people that not all men are rapists, and we seek an open channel for communication because we believe that it is important to believe survivors of sexual assault or rape. We are here to support victims - as are other groups at Drexel, such as Violence Information and Education for Women and Foundation of Undergraduates for Sexual Equality. The counseling center and Drexel Public Safety also have resources for victims of sexual assault and their friends.
Nationally, about 95 percent of rapes are never reported to the authorities. This makes rape the single most underreported crime. The main reason is that victims do not think they will be believed. We are working to make a campus where survivors are believed, and we hope that you will work with us to make this happen.
In solidarity,
Lonnie Snyder
President, One in Four
Junior, Mechanical Engineering
When a person reports that they have been victimized, they must go through a lengthy legal process. This is not something that anyone likes or really chooses to go through. According to the FBI, if they compiled all the cases of rape that they receive in a year, only 2 to 8 percent of them are not viable cases - that means that at a minimum, 92 percent of the time when a person says they are raped, they were actually raped.
Take a moment and think about how you would react if one of your friends came and told you that they were raped.
Sexual assault victims are both men and women, heterosexual and homosexual, and all races and cultural backgrounds. One in Four works to educate people that not all men are rapists, and we seek an open channel for communication because we believe that it is important to believe survivors of sexual assault or rape. We are here to support victims - as are other groups at Drexel, such as Violence Information and Education for Women and Foundation of Undergraduates for Sexual Equality. The counseling center and Drexel Public Safety also have resources for victims of sexual assault and their friends.
Nationally, about 95 percent of rapes are never reported to the authorities. This makes rape the single most underreported crime. The main reason is that victims do not think they will be believed. We are working to make a campus where survivors are believed, and we hope that you will work with us to make this happen.
In solidarity,
Lonnie Snyder
President, One in Four
Junior, Mechanical Engineering
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