CAUTION, DATE RAPE

The GC&SU Campus is, for the most part, a safe campus that provides protection from the criminal elements. Our crime rate on campus is among the lowest in the state. However, the one thing that the GC&SU Department of Public Safety cannot protect you from is yourself and your fellow students. You have to be on guard and use some common sense.

Every year at GC&SU, and at every other campus across America, date rapes occur. Some are reported to the staffs of Health Services, Counseling Services, Residence Life and Public Safety. Most are probably never reported. I have been employed in the campus public safety field for 17 years, and I have been involved with investigations for at least ten of those years. This experience, along with the national statistics, has demonstrated some familiar patterns. There are things we can do to prevent these crimes from occurring, and that is what I would like to discuss in this article. I have some advice for women and for men.

All of the date rapes that I have been involved with over the years with college students involved the use of alcohol. Alcohol lowers inhibitions. We all know that alcohol impairs judgement and, to that degree, makes women more vulnerable than they might normally be. Alcohol has a tendency to make men bolder, more confident and effects their judgement as well. By far a majority of our crimes occur by students who are under the influence of alcohol, and date rape is no exception.

Women who are victims of date rape tend to place themselves in dangerous situations. First of all, as previously mentioned, they are usually under the influence of alcohol. They usually start out with a group of friends at a bar downtown or at a party in the residence halls but end up alone with a single male. Usually the male is an acquaintance, but he is not always someone the female knows very well. He often is someone she knows from class or the friend of a friend.

Usually heavy petting occurs before the assault, and many times there are breaks in the “petting” where the female indicates that she does not want sex, but instead of leaving and sending a clear message, she continues to “make out.”

Usually the male sends several very clear indications that he wants sex, and the female implies that she does not want to have sex but continues to “make out.” The males tend to see this as being coy. This also continues to get the male even more excited and makes him hopeful that she will change her mind. The longer the session occurs, the more likely the male is to think he will (or should) get “lucky.”

Females tend not to send a clear message. Women are sometimes too polite. Instead of saying “no” or “stop,” they use more ambiguous phrases like “we shouldn’t do this” or “you don’t want to do this.” This leaves room for misinterpretation. Frequently, the female ends up in the male’s room and stays there until the assault and even after the assault. By going to his room, the female sends the signal that she wants to be there and also places herself at risk, because the room is an obvious base of power for the male.

None of these things are illegal or wrong, but they do place the female student at risk. This doesn’t mean the male is not guilty if a rape occurs. It does, however, make the case more difficult to prosecute. It also strengthens the offender’s case. Ask yourself this: Is a jury going to send a young man to prison for 10 or more years for rape when a female student does all of the following voluntarily?

She goes out drinking with him, she comes back to his room (or other isolated place) with him, she gets involved in a session of very heavy petting that lasts for a long period of time, she never clearly states no or stop, she doesn’t disturb any neighbors or even roommates as the rape took place; and there are no witnesses to the incident. The female student needs to be aware of these trends to determine if she is following a dangerous precedent.

In addition, the female student is almost always reluctant to report the incident. There are a number of reasons for this, but they apply to almost all of our female students. Here are some examples. They don’t want their parents to know they were drinking or were in a boy’s room. They don’t want their boyfriend back home to find out. They don’t want their friends to find out or be forced to take sides. They don’t want to take part in the police investigation. They don’t want to get the boy (offender) in trouble, or they feel like it might be their fault.

You need to determine the woman’s intent. In short, is she telling you in so many words that she doesn’t want to have sex? Err on the side of caution.

If you go to court on a charge of rape, you should be aware that the sympathy of the jury is going to be on the side of the victim. Remember, no means no. Yes means yes. Everything else means no.

Guys, a woman can use a man just as much as a man can use a woman. Don’t place yourself in a position where a female, who may have emotional problems, dependency problems, etc, uses you to gain sympathy from others.

There have been women who allow themselves to be put in a position to “cry” rape for attention. Rape is such a personal and hurtful crime that you cannot count on this as a defense. Don’t allow yourself to be placed in this position by having sex with a female you hardly know.

This is the reality of date rape in a campus setting. Pay attention to the signs, and don’t place yourself in a vulnerable position. Avoid consuming alcohol when making choices about sexual partners.

The best advice is to date and to get to know your friends and potential sex partners before committing to any acts that may lead to sex or, better yet, abstain from sex or be monogamous. Send clear messages. Report when you are the victim so that we can help you and help others as well.

The GC&SU Department of Public Safety, the GC&SU community and the Milledgeville-Baldwin County community are here to serve you. If you experience any negative events of this type, please feel free to contact members of your Residence Life Staff, GC&SU Counseling

Services, Health Services and Public Safety. There are victims’ advocates at GC&SU and the Solicitor’s Office to assist you. You are an intelligent student or you wouldn’t be here. We at Public safety are asking you to be safe and to be smart as well.

Again, most men are under the influence of alcohol when they rape an acquaintance. The law states that voluntary inebriation is not a valid excuse for a crime. Don’t place yourself in a position to be charged with a crime that you would not normally commit if you were not under the influence of alcohol.

Let this be a warning. GC&SU and the Baldwin County District Attorney’s office will prosecute a charge of Date Rape. I have taken three cases to the District Attorney’s (DA’s) office in the last two years, and all three were a hair away from being prosecuted. There is no distinction in the law between date rape and stranger rape. Rape is rape. The sentence for rape is death, imprisonment for life without parole, imprisonment for life with parole and at a minimum not less than ten or more than 20 years. That is a lot of time for one night of pleasure.

No means no. If a jury thinks that a woman saying “I can’t do this” means no, then you are guilty of rape.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 7 2001. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry