Purdue News
Purdue News
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June 15, 1998
Rape commission recommends prevention strategyWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A "zero tolerance" public attitude towards rape, plus enhanced community awareness and education and better investigation equipment for police and prosecutors, are needed if Indiana hopes to reduce the 2,000 rapes cases reported each year, according to a report presented today (Monday, 6-15) to Gov. Frank O'Bannon."Those 2,000 cases are just the rapes that get reported. Some estimates place actual rape numbers closer to 10,000 per year for Indiana," said Mary Pilat, a Purdue University 4-H Youth specialist and the chairwoman of a commission of experts who studied the status of rape and sexual assault in Indiana. Pilat also heads the Communities Against Rape Initiative (CARe), a program that links youths and adult education specialists, sexual assault counselors, university health professionals, school teachers and others who work to prevent rape and assist victims. CARe commissioned the 50-page report, which looks at the social and financial costs of rape and sexual assault, and the number and type of programs in place to help victims and treat offenders. The commission, which included victim advocates, law enforcement officials, health professionals, educators and researchers, made recommendations that would lead to better treatment for victims and offenders and create a culture that censures sexual assault. Pilat said the costs to victims and the rest of society are high, and prevention is preferable to prosecution. "In addition to the life-altering trauma, the costs to the victim average $86,500. The prison bill runs $15,000 to $20,000 per year, and the trial can cost up to $100,000," she said. "The Status of Rape and Sexual Assault in Indiana Report to the Governor," recommendations fell into five key areas: data collection, prevention education and planning, criminal justice response, offender treatment, and victim support. Public education and bolstering existing community rape prevention programs are core CARe objectives, Pilat said. Improved data collection and criminal justice response would require better awareness of what rape is by both victims and law enforcement personnel, investments in new forensic technologies for rape investigation, and consistent reporting guidelines across counties. Prevention recommendations include more youth education programs to prevent rape, and intervention programs for young males and other groups. Victim services could be improved with better extended recovery services with statewide availability and affordable follow-up health care services such as pregnancy and AIDS testing. An offender program would create training opportunities for local therapists, statewide standards for offender identification and treatment, and prison programs. "The report is just a beginning, a starting point," Pilat said. "The effort now is to enhance rape prevention efforts across Indiana, to help the rape prevention programs that already are doing excellent work out in the state, and to deliver educational messages to more of the people who are at risk of rape or at risk of becoming a rapist." In an effort to determine prevailing social attitudes toward rape, a CARe youth advisory council surveyed teen-agers in 19 communities. "Rape is a learned behavior, and community standards can send an unmistakable message to men on what the community finds objectionable or understandable. For example, the youth survey showed one 15-year-old girl thought girls get raped only because of what they wear. And a 17-year-old boy said girls who flirt owed the boys," said Sue Hancock, CARe coordinator. The program recently finished pilot testing a rape prevention curriculum in 12 schools and is developing after-school materials. A public awareness campaign will debut in late summer, and eight university health centers and college groups are working on materials for young adults. The CARe network includes the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, the Indiana State Department of Health, Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Indiana Youth Institute, Purdue Center for Families and 29 counties in Indiana. The effort is funded by the Indiana State Department of Health through a Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant of the Crime Bill Amendment.
Source: Mary Pilat, (765) 494-6871; e-mail, pkw@four-h.purdue.edu
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: The full report, "The Status of Rape and Sexual Assault in Indiana Report to the Governor," is available from Mary Pilat at (765) 494-6871, fax (765) 496-1152, e-mail pkw@four-h.purdue.edu
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