Opinion

Sexual assualt in Maine

It happens - even if you don't hear about it

By Angela Fiandaca

Posted on April 28, 2003, at 12:00 a.m.

It is a scary world out there and not just because of terrorism or war. There is another battle, a very different but similar fight occurring in America. Shocking for some, but Maine is not exempt from the problem that finds 1.3 adult women being raped every minute.

One in three women and one in five men will be sexually victimized in their lifetime, according to Downeast Sexual Assault Services located in Ellsworth.

Eighty-five percent of these victims will know their attacker. These may just be statistics people hear consistently and then learn to block them out. To me, however, these numbers are a frightening reality that makes me realize my fear of walking alone on campus after dark is a serious reality and not just a girl’s paranoia getting the best of her.

This is the reality we Americans face today – especially those on college campuses. According to Maine’s Attorney General, G. Steven Rowe, 83 percent of female sexual assault victims are under the age of 25.

Rape and sexual assaults are not figments of peoples’ imaginations. Maine has an honorable reputation of being a safer place to live. Crimes happen, sure, but not as often as in Boston or New York City. However, the misperception that goes along with people assuming Maine is not only safe, but that nothing bad ever happens here is crossing into a danger zone.

This zone is very real. In 2000, rapes increased about 20 percent, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Of 893 sexual assaults in 2000 reported to Maine rape crisis hotlines, only 318 rapes were reported to police, according to Rowe.

This may just sound like a bunch of numbers, but for the victims the statistics are their life.

“Sexual assault has serious impact on all victims as it is a violent act over which they had no control and were often in fear for their lives,” according to the National Victim Center.

We want to believe we live in a safe environment. We want to trust that the person walking behind us is walking to his residence hall and is not out to see what they can get. We don’t want to be honest with ourselves and admit that anything is dangerous, last of all someone we know being the attacker.

UMaine is not completely secure with about 80 percent of a college campus’s population drinking. Seventy-five percent of sexual assault cases involve alcohol or drug abuse. We are all at risk of sexual assault. With anything that includes everyone in its danger path, an entire community must deal with the issue.

I commend those working toward preventing sexual assaults in Maine. I especially commend those men on the UMaine campus involved with these efforts. Breaking the stereotypes is the first step toward helping this serious cause – a cause all UMaine students should join in helping.

“The shame in this is not the victims. It is the perpetrators shame,” Rowe said. ” And it is our shame as well if we are not doing all we can to protect women from this violence.”

Angela Fiandaca is a junior journalism major.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.