Tuesday, April 22, 2014
THE DAILY ILLINI
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
975 The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Vol. 143 Issue 111 | Free
· A Double-Edged Sword: Annabelle’s Story ·
UNACCOUNTED Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on sexual assault on campus. The stories in this series contain graphic descriptions by real University students whose names have been changed to protect their identities.
BY BRITTNEY NADLER STAFF WRITER
In her mind, having sex with her ex would bring him back.
In 2012, 12 sexual assaults were reported at the University — that year, a campus of 42,883 students — according to the University Police Department Annual Security Report. All reports were made by females. In 2011, a total of 11 reported attacks came entirely from females, and in 2010, only two of the 12 reports were male, said Lt. Tony Brown of the support services bureau of the University police department. These numbers are vastly lower than the estimates of Molly McLay, assistant director of the Women’s Resources Center. McLay said approximately one-in-five females (or 2,838 undergraduates on this campus in 2012) will be sexually assaulted throughout their undergraduate careers. It would also mean that, annually, 710 females will be sexually assaulted. For undergraduate males, roughly one-in-16 (or 1,106 in 2012) will be sexually assaulted over their undergraduate careers — annually, 277 sexual assaults. That adds up to 987 sexual assaults per year, 975 more than the reported number.
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nnabelle felt the pressure. She felt it from her ex-boyfriend, she felt it from his promise to get back together with her and, above all, she felt it from herself. In her mind, having sex with her ex would bring him back. It happened three months after Annabelle, a 17-year-old senior in high school, and her boyfriend, Nick, had broken up. She had been having sex with him because he said it was how she could prove her love to him. In reality, as she would later find out, he was also sleeping with other girls. One night while hooking up in her car, Annabelle brought up the idea of getting back together. But Nick
said she would never be anything but a trophy wife, more of a girl that guys like to toss around until they get bored — a slut. At that moment, she realized what she was doing and that Nick didn’t actually care about her. She began to turn away and told him to leave her alone — but he had a different plan. Nick raped her. “Don’t you like that?” he whispered in her ear. She screamed “Stop!” and he said it again. He told her to shut up while she cried and yelled. She eventually gave up, staring at the top of the car, waiting for him to finish. She then dressed in silence. She stared blankly at the streetlights as she drove him home. He tried to hold her hand and kiss her
good night, but she rejected him. “Thanks for that. I really enjoyed your special treat,” Nick said to her when he left. Annabelle went home that night, keeping quiet about what had happened. She would endure the next six months carrying the burden of that secret. She didn’t go out, and she pretended nothing happened between her and Nick. She stayed in her room at night, alone, crying, and when it all became too much, she stepped in front of a car that “luckily stopped.” Annabelle spent extra time at her local pool and with her best friend. She went to work. She began personal therapy. One day, she even told Nick she forgave him.
Annabelle is part of the majority. Most sexual assaults go unreported for a variety of reasons. Many survivors don’t realize their attack is an assault. Many don’t wish to report the crime, and others don’t want to carry on with the investigation after reporting it. In 2012, 12 sexual assaults were reported at the University — that year, a campus of 42,883 students — according to the University Police Department Annual Security Report. All reports were made by females. In 2011, all 11 reported attacks came entirely from females, and in 2010, only two of the 12 reports were male, said Lt. Tony Brown of the support services bureau of the University police department. These numbers are vastly lower than the estimates of Molly McLay, assistant director of the Women’s Resources Center. McLay said approximately one-infive females (or 2,838 undergraduates on this campus in 2012) will be sexually assaulted throughout their undergraduate careers. It would also mean that, annually, 710 females on campus will be sexually assaulted. For undergraduate males, roughly one-in-16 (or 1,106 in 2012) will be sexually assaulted over their undergraduate careers — annually, 277 sexual assaults. Overall, that adds up to 987 sexual assaults per year, 975 more than the reported number. Every year, Rape Advocacy, Counseling and Education Servic-
es, or RACES, takes nearly 200 crisis calls, sees between 30 to 40 survivors and provides counseling and advocacy to about 130 people. RACES is a community-based rape crisis center in Urbana that offers a hotline, 24-7 medical advocacy, follow-up services and free counseling. RACES advocates also go to schools to teach children about sexual assault and train professionals and community members, said Kerri True-Funk, executive director of RACES. True-Funk said RACES advocates don’t report the calls to the police or to the University because the hotline they run is confidential and anonymous. Victims may not think to report the assault immediately after it occurs, said Megan Pagel, FYCARE instructor and graduate student. “It might not even be something they’re thinking about at that time shortly afterwards,” Pagel said. “Then if they do realize it later down the line, they just figure it happened a while ago, what’s the point now?” Annabelle didn’t report her attack. Describing herself as a justice-oriented person, she said sending Nick to jail would put him at risk of being sexually assaulted. “I didn’t report it because I could never ruin someone’s life like that,” she said. Before actually reporting a sexual assault, coming to terms with being labeled as a victim and possibly being perceived as weak,
vulnerable and exploited can be enough to steer survivors away from fi ling charges, said Rick Stejskal, FYCARE instructor and graduate student. Instead of using the label “victim,” a better term to use is survivor. It provides empowerment and doesn’t diminish the person. “Just the word ‘victim’ in general is a very loaded word,” he said. Annabelle is familiar with the generalizations. “There’s a very big stereotype that people who get raped are stupid and ‘rape will never happen to me,’” she said, “and I guess people are embarrassed about it.” Many survivors of sexual assault know the perpetrator, making it extremely difficult for them to report the assault. Acquaintance rape is the most common type of rape, as 75 to 80 percent of all victims report knowing the perpetrator, True-Funk said. “When you’re dealing with neighbors, friends, dating partners, classmates, it can become a lot more complicated to report to an authority figure that the person that assaulted you is someone you willingly let into your dorm room or you willingly went to a party with,” she said. A few months after the attack, Nick texted Annabelle asking if they could be friends. “I completely exploded on him, saying left and right how horrible he was and how he treated me like shit,” she said. “It felt pretty good.”
Annabelle went home that night keeping quiet about what had happened. She would endure the next six months carrying the burden of that secret. She didn’t go out, and she pretended nothing happened between her and Nick. She stayed in her room at night, alone, crying, and when it all became too much, she stepped in front of a car that “luckily stopped.”
But she never reported him.
“There’s a very big stereotype that people who get raped are stupid and ‘rape will never happen to me,’ and I guess people are embarrassed about it.”
— Annabelle, sexual assault survivor
A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD continues on page 3A
Campus resources Women’s Resources Center: 217-333-3137 Rape Advocacy, Counseling, and Education Services Rape Crisis 24-Hour Hotline: 217-384-4444 McKinley Health Center: 217-333-2700 University Police Department: 217-333-1216 (non-emergencies) Emergency Dean: 217-333-0050 Office of Women’s Programs: 217-333-3137 University of Illinois Counseling Center: 217-333-3704 Carle Foundation Hospital: 217-383-3311 Presence Covenant Medical: 217-337-2000
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News 3A
Sexual Assault Awareness Month events
April 24 Q Sex Out Loud Fair at Illini Union Room A at 9 a.m. Q ROTC SHARP Training featuring April 22 Catharsis Productions’ The HookQ Tuesday @ 7 workshop — Deconstructing Masculinity: Doing Up at the Beckmann Institute Auditorium at 4 p.m. the MANual Labor at Illini Union Q Women on the Move: Yoga Room 105 at 7 p.m. for Healing (women only) at the Women’s Resources Center at April 23 5:30 p.m. Q Denim Day on the Main Quad, Q Take Back the Night beginning all day on Main Quad at 6:30 p.m. and Q Writ ‘n Rhymed Poetic Arts Space at the Women’s Resources ending at the Urbana Courthouse. March at 7 p.m. with Speakout to Center at 7 p.m. follow. 0RUH LQVLGH To see the *For event listings throughout the Editorial Board’s stance rest of the month, visit oiir.illinois. on sexual assault and edu and click the event calendar. prevention, see 3DJH $ SOURCE: WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER
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