Rape - an ugly crisis situation

By Carl Greaux

Rape is an allegation that is easy to make and hard to prove, and even harder still to be defended by the person against whom it is made.

When a woman is raped, the incident lingers in her mind throughout her life. I believe it is an act of violence over which she had neither control nor protection.

At the Criminal Investigation Department, I encourage my co-workers to refer to persons who have been raped as survivors and not victims. Instead of focusing on their weakness, which the word victim implies, we use the term survivor to emphasise a woman's survival strengths.

Working with rape cases and survivors, I have come to realise that most women fail to report the incident. These survivors, whose bodies had been brutally violated, often desperately want to forget that horrible incident ever occurred. To report it means dwelling on the details of the incident and going over them again and again in their minds. Other women fear retaliation from the rapist. Some feel that people around them would think less of them because they were raped. Rape is an ugly crisis situation that takes a great amount of courage to face.

Let us look at three theoretical perspectives on why rape occurs. My intent is not to state which is the best theory but to present three different ways of conceptualising or thinking about rape.

Firstly, the Victim Precipitated Rape. This perspective assumes that the woman is actually to blame for the rape and that she in fact asked for it. Perhaps she was wearing provocative clothing. As a police officer, I would like to send a very strong warning to the men out there: "It does not give you the right to rape a woman because of her attire." And to the woman, "For Christ sake cover up!"

Secondly, the Rapist Psychopathology. This perspective proposes that the rapist is emotionally disturbed or mentally unbalanced. As an example, Mr. Y and Mr. X are now serving life sentences at Her Majesty’s Prison. According to their psychiatric reports, they raped because they are sick. This perspective places virtually none of the blame on society or on social attitudes.

Thirdly, the Feminist perspective, which emphasises that rape is the logical reaction of men who socialise to dominate women. Rape is seen as a manifestation of men's need to aggressively maintain power over women. They see rape as a societal problem, rather than an individual one.

When I’m walking in the streets of Basseterre or in group settings, I’ve often been asked, “Officer Greaux, is it true that rape tend to occur in dark alleys or parks?” I answered, “The single most common place of a rape incident is in a woman’s own residence, according to reported cases, although walking alone in dark alleys and parks tend to increase the chances of a woman being rape.”

A next frequently ask question is, “Officer Greaux, are only strangers potential rapist?” In my answer, I said, “Most of the cases I’ve dealt with and reported cases, the women knew their assailant.” Another frequently asked question is, “Can a boy 10 years of age rape?” My answer to this is that “a boy under 14 years of age is irrefutably presumed to be incapable of having sexual intercourse according to law.” And finally: “Officer Greaux, what about date rape?” Date rapes are particularly prevalent on college campuses overseas. In St. Kitts and Nevis it does occur but infrequently reported to the police.

If you are raped, your initial reaction should be to call the police and relate the incident. It is important that the survivor not take a bath. Bathing will remove vital evidence. They may feel defiled and dirty, and it is a logical reaction for them to want themselves cleansed and to try to forget that the incident ever occurred. The survivor should try not to disturb the place where the incident occurred; this will help police to collect all possible clues. The survivor should be given immediate medical care for any physical injury, evidential purposes, possibility of pregnancy and for screening of any possibility of sexually transmitted disease. During counselling the police will explain the reason for not bathing immediately after the incident.

Remember, such ugly crises (rape) should be reported immediately to the police. Internationally, it should be reported within forty eight hours at the absolute longest. The sooner the rape is reported and the evidence gathered, the better the chances of being able to get a conviction and send the assailant to Her Majesty’s Prison along with Mr. X and Y.