Silence Surrounds Sexual Assault

Article Tools

Print friendly
E-mail story
Tip Us Off
iPod friendly
Comments

Bookmark This

del.icio.us.
Digg!
furl
google
newsvine
reddit
technorati
Facebook
Yahoo!

There are many kinds of silence. There’s the silence of early morning, when the neighbors are still sleeping and the birds haven’t started chirping. There’s the silence after an argument, when all the yelling and crying subsides and the dueling parties wonder where to go from here. The current recession can perhaps best be described in the silences found in foreclosed homes and empty office buildings.

Gay Girl / Straight World

But the silence that surrounds sexual assault is absolutely deafening. In the United States, one out of six women and one in 33 men will be a victim of sexual assault in their lifetime, and it is estimated that one assault occurs every two minutes. It is more than likely that either you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault.

Every April, the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center (SBRCC), along with organizations across the United States, recognizes Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The general goals are broad: to increase understanding about the issue and to encourage community members to take action to prevent sexual violence. The center is hopeful that the heightened awareness will help it achieve “our vision of ending sexual violence and creating a culture of equity and respect.”

Each year, the center focuses these wide-reaching goals toward a specific community; last year, the emphasis was on Latino parents and how they can talk to their youth about sexual assault. This April, SBRCC focuses on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, with a variety of events planned throughout the month, including a workshop copresented with Pacific Pride Foundation at UCSB (Apr. 6); a similar Spanish-language workshop at La Casa de la Raza (Apr. 21); a self-defense class open to all members of the LGBTQ community (Apr. 19); and a workshop about sexual violence at Santa Barbara City College (Apr. 24).

“Even though we know that sexual assault affects the LGBTQ community at similar rates if not higher rates than the population in general, a lot of times we don’t have people come in [to the center] seeking our services,” explained Jessica Ordaz, SBRCC’s community education coordinator. “There’s a lot of silence in the LGBTQ community about sexual assault.”

Pointing out that sexual assault often takes place between acquaintances or people in relationships, Ordaz further explained that rape and assault are often used in hate crimes, with members of the LGBTQ community the most targeted victims of such crime. Only 20 states include sexual orientation in their hate crime statutes, with even fewer mentioning gender identity. Ordaz pointed out that in a recent study of university students, 42.4 percent of LGBTQ students—compared to 21.4 percent of heterosexual students—indicated they had been forced to have sex against their will.

Even more disturbing than these statistics, however, is the upsetting reality that sexual violence is discussed even less within the LGBTQ community than the general population. “Sexual assault is silenced within every community,” Ordaz said. “But for a lot of people in the LGBTQ community who are not out, or not out to certain parts of the community—whether it be to their family or friends—it might be even dangerous to come out. … For somebody to share their story or make a report, you have to disclose your sexual orientation or gender identity, and that may not be something the survivor is ready to do at that time.”

Add concerns of discrimination from law enforcement and the criminal justice system, not to mention fear of being outed by one’s perpetrator, and it becomes clear why disclosure of sexual assault presents more difficulties within the LGBTQ community.

Working toward breaking this silence clearly is one of Ordaz’s main objectives for this year’s awareness month. Next Saturday, April 11, SBRCC will host HART (Healing Art), an open mike night and community-building event at La Casa de la Raza that will provide a safe space for LGBTQ folks to talk openly about sexual assault. At this gathering and throughout the month, a ’zine of submitted art, poetry, and written stories discussing sexual assault will be available.

To learn more about Sexual Assault Awareness Month and SBRCC’s community events, call 963-6832 or visit sbrapecrisiscenter.org.

Related Links

• More Gay Girl/Straight World columns

Comments

Discussion Guidelines

Currently:
Clear Sky
Temperature:
60.1°
Wind:
5 ENE