Up & Coming Weekly

FEBRUARY 3 - 9, 2010 UCW 5 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Rape Crisis Weighs In On Notification Issue Dear Editor: I am writing this letter on behalf of the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County staff and Board of Directors. Please accept this letter as the offi cial position of Rape Crisis in response to the City Council directive to City Manager Dale Iman at the Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The fi rst sentence of the City of Fayetteville's mission statement reads: "The City Government provides service that makes Fayetteville a better place for all." We truly appreciate the City Council's desire to respond to the community's requests for information on keeping themselves safe, but we feel that a change in operating procedure will violate the privacy of sexual assault victims and will thus run counter to the mission of the city. I, and a board member, have met with the Fayetteville Police Department and city manager to participate in a discussion regarding the new procedure in citizen notifi cation of sexual assaults (aka criminal assaults). It must fi rst be said that Rape Crisis has experienced a very good working relationship with members of law enforcement and we appreciate their position to protect the identity of sexual assault victims from the community and the media. It is our position that the existing media policy in regard to notifying the public about criminal assaults is suffi cient and does an excellent job of protecting the identities of sexual assault victims within Fayetteville. We do not have any issue with the media policy as it stands. We reviewed the new procedure that was created in response to the city's directive and we feel that the directive served upon Mr. Iman and the Fayetteville Police Department has the potential to create a grave effect upon the victims of sexual assault in our community. For instance, because of the attention the media has brought to the current reports of home invasion/criminal assault, two sexual assault victims that went to the hospital since the Jan. 11 article in The Fayetteville Observer did NOT report the crime to police specifi cally because they were afraid the media would fi nd them and identify them as sexual assault victims. We believe that this trend will continue…which means that victims will not receive services they need to heal from this incredibly personal and destructive crime, but also, we will not be able to identify perpetrators of sexual assault and sexual abuse within our community. We completely understand the wishes of the community to be notifi ed so they can protect themselves and we actively work on prevention projects to decrease the amount of sexual assaults and abuse in the community. However, it is of grave concern to us that the needs of individuals already victimized are being glossed over by the directive that the police department MUST inform citizens of sexual assaults. It is highly likely that sexual assault victims' identities will be known when the reports come out and it is defi nitely possible that a perpetrator may seek retribution on that person for fi ling a report with the police. We believe that identities will be compromised for the following reason — people are naturally curious when they see that someone is being visited by law enforcement. If someone reads in the paper that a sexual assault occurred on their street or in their general area the previous day they will likely put two and two together — even if the victim's identity is masked. Sexual assault is one of a handful of crimes in which the victim's behaviors are often examined to assess her or his "facilitation" of the crime. People's responses to sexual assault victims is highly unpredictable and at a time when the victim truly needs support and time to heal the added pressure of possibly being identifi ed, approached, and/ or ridiculed for the incident that occurred could be incredibly harmful to their recovery. We are also reticent to implement a more aggressive policy on notifying the public when it is very possible that people in the community may develop a false sense of security if the crimes committed have not been offi cially linked (meaning through the use of concrete physical evidence). This means that potential victims will be LESS likely to secure themselves and their homes and MORE likely to become victimized. We STRONGLY suggest that the police department be able to maintain its current policy for notifying the public. We feel that a change in policy will lead to a much higher likelihood that sexual assault victims will be identifi ed and potentially harassed by the media, as well as others in the community including the perpetrator. Sexual assault is already one of the least reported violent crimes (fewer than 30% of victims actually report to the crime to law enforcement) and the effects of the assault can be devastating. We DO NOT want to encourage a change in procedure that would exacerbate the harmful effects of the crime and discourage reporting to law enforcement and our services. Deanne Gerdes, Executive Director Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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