Rape trial in IL, statistics for State College, and some related fiction
Goddammit. There is no justice for rape victims in this country. They are humiliated only to have their rapists walk free with a spotless record, even when there is video proof. This is in Illinois. People wonder why we need feminism today. I am so angry about this.
People wonder why women see rape as a problem. 107 sexual assaults were reported in State College in 2005, according to a recent Collegian article. This is consistent with the university's rate for the last three years as reported in their crime statitstics bulletin. Considering the estimates that only 25-30% of rapes are reported, that's pretty frightening. State College is supposedly one of the safest towns in the nation, and 300-400 women per year can be expected to be raped in the vicinity the university alone! Granted, we have about 40,000 students altogether, but one would hope that things would be more secure. Almost all of them are acquaintance rapes, too, where the victim already knew her attacker - 98% last year, and about 80% for the three years in the crime report bulletin. (Around 80-90% is consistent with national statistics.) Our percentage of women raped is lower than the national average, but we're a podunk University town and supposed to be all civilized. I don't really know what else to say about this.
I read The Screwfly Solution this week. It was rather frightening, despite its innocuous beginning. It's related to all this, but if I said how, I might give away the story. Not for reading right before bed!
People wonder why women see rape as a problem. 107 sexual assaults were reported in State College in 2005, according to a recent Collegian article. This is consistent with the university's rate for the last three years as reported in their crime statitstics bulletin. Considering the estimates that only 25-30% of rapes are reported, that's pretty frightening. State College is supposedly one of the safest towns in the nation, and 300-400 women per year can be expected to be raped in the vicinity the university alone! Granted, we have about 40,000 students altogether, but one would hope that things would be more secure. Almost all of them are acquaintance rapes, too, where the victim already knew her attacker - 98% last year, and about 80% for the three years in the crime report bulletin. (Around 80-90% is consistent with national statistics.) Our percentage of women raped is lower than the national average, but we're a podunk University town and supposed to be all civilized. I don't really know what else to say about this.
I read The Screwfly Solution this week. It was rather frightening, despite its innocuous beginning. It's related to all this, but if I said how, I might give away the story. Not for reading right before bed!