Finally, the FBI’s outdated and problematic definition of rape has been updated for the first time since its original creation in 1929.  This change in language took a painstakingly long 83 years, and comes after many states and police jurisdictions changed their definitions of rape to more inclusive of cases that are reported.  The outdated and limited nature of the 1929 definition is extremely problematic both in theory and practice. 

The original definition of rape is the “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will”.  Let’s parse that out a bit.  “Carnal knowledge” is defined as the “act of a man having sexual bodily connections with a woman” and can occur if the penis penetrates the vagina, however slight.  “Against her will” is defined as “any instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of her youth)”. It is specified that individuals don’t mature at the same rate and that girls as young as 10 or 12 are capable of giving consent in some situations.  The examples that are written in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook on page 26 include instances of gang rape, stranger rape, and the use of weapons by the perpetrators.

Where does one start to point out the numerous problems with this definition and is it possible to do it succinctly?  This definition only recognizes that only females can be raped and that only males can be perpetrators as it specifies that the action must include a penis penetrating a vagina.  Therefore it excludes male and transgender survivors.  It also does not recognize that females and transgender people can be perpetrators.  This definition excludes the intentional use of legal substances, such as alcohol, to rape someone.  It stipulates that some girls aged 10-12 are able to give consent, despite the fact that research on child development does not support that.  Additionally, the FBI has a very limited definition of how sex can occur against a woman’s will specifying that there has to be a level of physical force.  This idea is further cemented in the examples of rape the FBI provides as they all have an element of excessive force or a weapon.  The examples that the FBI provides (gang rape, stranger rape, and use of a weapon) represent the small minority of incidents of rape.  Because of all these errors, the FBI misses many survivors of rape when conducting national studies.  Even if states or police jurisdictions define rape more liberally they are only allowed to report the instances of rape that fit into the FBI definition.  As a result, the FBI seriously undercounts the instances of rape as CDC estimates over one million occurred in 2010 but FBI only reported approximately 84,000.

The new definition is more inclusive and states that rape is “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”  Obviously this definition has come a long way from the previous definition and has a lot of positive changes.  However, there are still several problems with it as well. 

First off, if a male or transgender person is forced to have penile-vaginal sex it is still not explicitly rape.  It only recognizes that men can be raped by other men.  This language still focuses on the male as the perpetrator (which is most common) rather than acknowledging that a woman is capable of raping a man as well.  Males have various barriers to reporting rape, including that they are supposed to want sex all the time and that they should be able to defend themselves, and this definition reinforces these ideas but excluding the possibility of penile-vaginal rape by a woman.  Therefore, the statistics will still not be reflective of all the survivors of rape nationwide. 

Its improvements are numerous.  It now includes penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth as counts of rape.  This allows for many more people - females, males, and transgendered - to be counted.  The definition now includes instances where the survivor was incapacitated - whether due to alcohol or drugs - and can not legally give consent.  It also includes the possibility of being raped by an object or a body part other than a penis.  This is an important distinction as it removes some of the assumptions of how rape is inherently a male-female penis-vagina crime.  It removes the necessity of force and turns rather to a lack of consent.  This removes the stipulation of physical force or a weapon in order to be classified as rape.  This is more reflective of the majority of rapes as perpetrators are typically known to the survivor and do not need to use extreme physical force or a weapon. 

The new definition will make statistical nationwide reports about rape to be more accurate and reflective of what is actually happening.  This can lead to increased financial support for rape crisis centers and other organizations that work with survivors or policy dealing with rape.  I don’t believe it should be the final definition of rape as it still excludes some cases but it is far more inclusive than the previous one.

Written by: Stacey

Sexual violence (SV) affects each survivor differently and recovery is pending on a variety of factors: support network, education about SV, therapy, connection to friends and family, activities that are equally distracting and rewarding, reporting and the ensuing investigation and case and others that are specific to each individual.  It is impossible to tell a survivor how long it is going to take to recover and there is no specific road or path that they can take to get there.  It’s unique to each person as they try to regain trust in the world and the people around them.  Each day can be a step forward or a step backward.  It can be a long, grueling, frustrating, and emotional journey.

It can be difficult to know how to respond to friend’s disclosure of sexual assault.  Many people think that it’s best to simply ignore the situation and that the survivor will heal faster if the assault is never mentioned.  However, put this theory in a different context: what if someone close to you died or you lost the job you’ve held for the past ten years?  Would life be easier for you if you didn’t talk about it?  Would the hurt and emotional trauma be easier to handle if no one discussed this with you?  I am not comparing sexual violence to losing a job or a loved one.  It is however a traumatic event, just as the other two are.  And most people need to discuss or acknowledge the trauma that has occurred in order to accept it and start on a path to recovery. 

So how should someone respond?  Unfortunately, there isn’t a magical phrase or action you can do to miraculously heal the situation.  The beautiful and, sometimes, difficult, thing about people is that we all respond differently to similar situations.  Therefore what can work for one survivor may not work for another survivor.

What is important is to keep in mind is that this person is your friend.  You have probably seen her or him in a variety of different emotional states and social settings.  Therefore, you can base your responses and behaviors off of these past experiences.  Does your friend typically like to talk about things straight on or in a more roundabout way?  Perhaps it would be better if there was food to be used as an excuse for not immediately responding to a question or statement.  Other options for putting the survivor more at ease about disclosing could include taking a walk, putting on music, or engaging in some other activity at the same time.  Sometimes it can be easier to talk about the sexual violence when it is not the central focus of the conversation but rather just one element of it. 

The best thing you can do is to be supportive of your friend.  Disclosing can be an extremely difficult thing to do, and she/he will typically only tell you if they feel they can absolutely trust you.  Make sure that your questions are pertinent to what you can do to help your friend and what she/he needs rather than requesting for more details about the assault and why she/he engaged in whatever actions beforehand.  It’s okay to fumble a bit when deciding what to say-that’s normal but make sure that what you’re saying is nonjudgmental.  Be sure that you are effectively communicating that the assault was not her/his fault and that you are there to support in any way necessary. 

It’s important to let survivors make their own choices and to support the ones they make.  As previously mentioned, responses to sexual violence can vary widely. Therefore, be prepared to give your friend options about what she/he can do.  An example would be asking your friend if she/he wanted to go to the hospital to get medical treatment and a forensic exam, only medical treatment, or not go to the hospital at all.  There are so many decisions that need to be made and the only one who can make the best decisions is the survivor.  You can be there to lay out what options exist and to discuss how each one might impact the survivor.  But you have to let your friend make those decisions and support that choice.  And that can be difficult sometimes.

While this can be an extremely difficult thing to hear and handle, know that you aren’t alone.  There are so many resources available to help your friend and yourself.  If you’re on a college campus, there are residence life staff, health counselors, and other staff members to assist.  There are many helpful organizations in the community as well, including BARCC.  Oftentimes, these organizations are great at referring to a better place if they are unable to fit your needs or questions.  So don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help because it’s what we’re here for! 

*If you are interested in learning more in depth information about how to respond to disclosures then contact BARCC (engagements@barcc.org) and ask about the different trainings and workshops we do!*

Written by: Stacey

The Star, one of Canada and Toronto’s largest online news sources recently published the following question in their Ellie’s Advice column:

Q: My husband said that while I was fast asleep one night he had intercourse with me. He thinks it’s acceptable since I’m his wife. I feel it’s almost the same as rape. It’s my right to go to sleep and know nothing will happen to me. I should be able to feel safe.
To do that without a person’s consent while they are unaware surely can’t be right. What do you think?
Curious
A: If having “sleep sex” with your husband feels so unsafe, you have bigger marital problems going on. This is what you should be dealing with, more than this one incident.

Disclaimer: I am assuming this question was written by a woman as the majority of other questions are submitted by women.  It is possible that it is a man, as same-sex marriage was nationally recognized in Canada in 2005. 

Let’s be clear: this incident is not “sleep sex” as the columnist suggests but is in fact rape.  It is rape based on how the woman is feeling about the violation and according to the Canadian Criminal Code.  Curious explicitly said that she did not give her husband permission to have sex with her while she was asleep.  She explicitly states that since she has found that out she feels unsafe and that it isn’t right to do while she is unaware.  Based on this information, the columnist should be focused on providing Curious with information on how to address this trauma such as a hotline number to a local rape crisis center or suggestions like counseling.  Since 1983, marital rape has been outlawed in Canada.  Based on this fact, the columnist can also recommend making a police report.  Instead, the columnist decides to downplay Curious’s feelings and her husband’s crime.  First she refers to it as “sleep sex”.  Secondly she states that Curious must be having bigger marital problems if this is upsetting her.  I also think that Curious may be having other marital problems—I am wondering if her husband abuses her in any other way.  I don’t think that this is what Ellie was referring to though.

I think it is deplorable that despite how clear Curious and the Canadian Criminal Code are, this columnist is still so wrong, rude, and careless in her response.  The fact that Curious’s husband does not believe he needs her expressed consent because they are married is extremely troubling.  It took much longer for the category of marital rape to be recognized as a crime and to make it into the criminal code, both in Canada and countries around the world.  Traditional beliefs did not recognize rape within marriage because it was thought that the woman’s body was literally owned by the man and therefore it was not feasible to commit an act of rape against one’s wife. Marriage vows were considered to be a blanket of consent for all sex within the marriage.  It is still one of the most contested aspects of the definition of rape and criminal code and spouses who are raped have a difficult time in having their charges taken seriously.  Despite these traditional values and patriarchal history, the man does not own the woman and he is not entitled to sex whenever he pleases.  The element of consent is required no matter the relationship status between the two people.

This answer is also troubling for the implications it can have past the influence it has on Curious.  As The Star is a widely read news source throughout Toronto and Canada, this opinion can also be read by scores of other people.  These people may have similar experiences to Curious and rather than believe it is a crime they may believe Ellie’s reference, “sleep-sex”.  This terminology could lead people to believe that they are overreacting to their experiences rather than acknowledging what is happening.  There are so many barriers to reporting a rape or sexual assault, especially against someone who you love and trust like a spouse.  Downplaying acts of rape in a popular news source can be detrimental to those who want to report because it could cast doubt in their mind as to whether they’d be believed and supported. 

Written by: Stacey

A new t-shirt was designed exclusively BARCC by the women-owned apparel company, Mer+ge.  Mer+ge works to promote self-expression and unity through their clothing designs.  The company wants to create “political, social, and biological messages to demonstrate that gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, etc are things that do not necessarily define us, but are rather just one part of who we are.”  Their CEO, Victoria Johnson, used BARCC’s mission of Healing and Social Change as inspiration for the current design.  According to Ms. Johnson, the design was to reflect the necessity of each individual “being heard and understood [and] in order to be heard, you have to have two lines of communication.  One ready to speak and the other ready to listen.”

Here at BARCC, we try to exemplify this ability to speak and listen throughout the work we do and the volunteer programs that we have.  The message and necessity of two lines of communication runs through our three volunteer programs, Hotline, Medical Advocacy (MedAd), and Community Awareness and Prevention Services (CAPS).  All three programs provide very different services but are interconnected through BARCC’s overall mission. 

The BARCC Hotline operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and depends heavily on the volunteers to ensure that all these shifts are covered.  In the 2010 calendar year, 2,972 hotline calls were answered which factors out to approximately 8 calls per day.  Hotline counselors answer calls from survivors, significant others, and providers.  They provide crisis counseling, resources and referrals, if needed, to other organizations or to BARCC counseling.  As one volunteer said, “so many times survivors and significant others aren’t heard or understood…our main goal is to provide an environment where the caller is listened to and understood.”  Oftentimes, survivors may not have a support network, have not received a positive response when disclosing to friends or family members, or not disclosed to anyone.  It can be very difficult for a survivor to call a stranger on the Hotline and talk about such sensitive and personal experiences.  Therefore, it is critical for Hotline counselors to be ready to hear what the survivors say so that they know what the main concerns and needs are for each individual and be able to appropriately respond. 

MedAd also operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and is dependent on volunteers to respond to hospitals in the Boston area to support survivors who have recently been assaulted and are undergoing the forensic exam.  In the calendar year of 2010, MedAd counselors responded to 338 cases, which is almost one per day.  MedAd counselors provide information about what to expect during and after the forensic exam, who all the different players are, and assisting with emotional and moral support throughout the entire process, which lasts four hours on average.  According to a MedAd volunteer, it is essential to “[meet] survivors where they’re at…[and] to listen to what they tell us about what’s happening for them at that moment.”  MedAd volunteers need to be aware of how the survivor is feeling at that specific moment but also pick up on cues of whether the survivor will be safe when they leave the hospital.  This would not be feasible without intently listening and hearing what each survivor is saying and answering questions and following up on concerns.

The CAPS program provides educational trainings and workshops throughout the Boston area to schools, colleges, DV agencies, youth workers, and other community organizations.  Volunteers facilitate engagements mainly in the evenings and on the weekends.  The curriculum varies from how to respond to disclosures of sexual assault to bystander intervention methods to consent and heavily depends on the contributions and participation of audience members as many of the workshops are interactive.  One of the CAPS volunteers stated “a lot of the work we do in CAPS is about starting conversation…and by listening to one another and having their own voices heard, people can begin to question some of the ways we’re socialized to think about relationships, sex, violence, and power.”  Societal norms and viewpoints do not change overnight but rather require many in depth conversations to identify where misperceptions arise and how they can be addressed.  In order to deliver an effective presentation, CAPS volunteers must be able to listen to the needs and thoughts of the audience and communicate the workshop in a way that resonates. 

Please check out this t-shirt and our new pendant on our website.  Both make great gifts.  Proceeds benefit the services we provide and it’s a great way to show your support all year round!

Written by: Stacey

If you read this blog regularly, or at all, I think you may also already have heard of the “Rape Survey” story at the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity Chapter on UVM’s (University of Vermont) campus in Burlington, Vermont. In case you haven’t, here’s a rundown of what’s going on: last weekend, a student went to university campus life administrators with information about a survey that originated in and was circulating through the frat house - one of the questions on the survey blankly asked “If you could rape someone, who would it be?”. University administrators subsequently notified Sigma Phi Epsilon’s national representatives (the fraternity has 240 chapters nationwide) and campus police, suspended the UVM campus chapter and launched an investigation into the origins of the survey and whether or not it is linked with any criminal acts on campus.

It’s rare that such an explicit symptom of deeply embedded rape culture surfaces in such a public way, but I have to say that I’m not surprised that this happened, especially on a college campus and behind the walls of a fraternity. Due to the newness of this investigation, it’s difficult to determine the context of the specific question - whether it was asked with specific, criminal intent or in the spirit of the “rape is funny” attitude that permeates everyday exchanges, sitcom banter, and woefully ignorant/insensitive/cheap/unfunny online humor forums. Either way, consider the facts: this “rape survey” was created by young people during a time in which:

- one in five women at college will be sexually assaulted; 
- a victim-blaming lens continues to frame dominant discourse on sexual violence in the media - take, for instance, the Pennsylvania Control Liquor Board’s newest ad targeting teen drinking (TRIGGER WARNING); 
- the language used to describe sexual violence and survivors across media frequently omits the use of the word “rape” or “assault” and is often confounded with language used to described consensual sexual encounters;
- law enforcement officials feel it’s excusable to neglect to investigate over 400 cases of alleged sexual assault to focus on enforcing other laws; and
- college students riot when a beloved football coach is fired for his role in not preventing child rape.

This list could go on for miles, of course. The point is, this specific incident is but one highly visible tree on a broader cultural landscape that tolerates, and even encourages, the act of rape.

With all of that being said - and hear me now, rape culture is still alive and thriving - I am surprised by the gravity of the consequences for the Sigma Phi men thus far, and how this deplorable act is being handled by university administrators, law enforcement, and the national headquarters for the fraternity. We’ve all heard about the tepid, inadequate responses college administrators have had to allegations of sexual assault on their campuses in the past. So, the fact that the UVM Sigma Phi Epsilon members have been indefinitely suspended by UVM administrators and subjected to investigations of the university, campus police and the fraternity’s headquarters is, to me, an important first step and one that defies my conditioned expectations of how these institutions normally deal with rape culture on campus. Additionally, it’s important to note that a student felt empowered to come forward with this information to college administrators, and that this survey, in and of itself, was deemed enough of a threat to campus life and security to require redress. Beyond the UVM campus, this story has also quickly generated a firestorm of media coverage and pushback, echoing across national headlines and prompting a number of responses from UVM professors, students and even a petition created by “Feminists at UVM” to shut down the UVM Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon. 

I’m sort of in awe of how much attention this survey has generated I can’t help but feel like the visibility of anti-rape activism and dialogue throughout 2011, from the NPR investigation of rape on college campuses that spurred a response from the Obama administration, to conversations for and against SlutWalk, drew enough attention to assault on college campuses to at least keep these UVM administrators vigilant and ready to act quickly. I think that suspending these fraternity members and launching an investigation about the origins and intent of the survey is a crucial first step in addressing such a heinous symptom of deeply embedded rape culture within fraternities, and on college campuses more generally. However, it’s definitely not a 100% “win” for the anti-rape movement, and I’d argue that all the collective steps that it took for the rape survey backlash to get to this point - the courage of a student to come forward, how this information was received by UVM administrators, the proportionate media coverage it’s generated, and the fervor with which the investigation is being carried out - would not be possible without consistent, vigilant, mindful advocacy, activism, and pushback. This is why it’s critical to continue to demand accountability - not only when someone is raped or assaulted, but when there are elements of rape culture staring us squarely in the eye.

Written by: Tierney,  Development Associate