Once again, I read the paper only to feel frustrated at the lack of critical knowledge about the horrible crime of rape or sexual assault. I am saddened by the story on the front page of last Saturday’s paper “SOCC vigilant after sex attack.”

For 10 years, I have worked for the Women’s Safety & Resource Center, an agency that supports both adult and child victims of these unspeakable crimes. We see the aftermath of not only the trauma, but how these clients are re-victimized after the fact by uninformed individuals, and sometimes by the media. In the report about SOCC, the reporter states: “In December 2003, the court convicted a man of sexually abusing two drunken women after a Halloween party.” Why didn’t this reporter write: In December of 2003, the court convicted a rapist/sex offender of sexually abusing two women after a Halloween party.

The man was “convicted” by our judicial system and yet this newspaper also convicted the victims. This kind of ignorance has not made it easy for victims of this crime to report. Victims are blamed because they had been drinking, or what they were wearing, or where they were walking, or who they were with.

Let’s question why a man would choose to commit this crime against a woman or a child.  Let’s ask why he is not ashamed. The fact is that 90 percent of sex offenses are committed by males and the majority of victims are females. 

According to Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, one in six women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape; 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape. About 3 percent of American men, or 1 in 33, have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetimes. According to the Oregon Department of Justice, a rape occurs in Oregon every 6.6 hours. 

I know our newspaper has the job to keep us all informed and I respect that. I want the community to be informed about the crime of sexual assault/rape and effects on the victim. I also want reports of these crimes done in a manner that does not blame the victim.  

Investigations of crimes are hard enough without sensationalism. I believe the college will take care of the students and let them know if there is a need for safety precautions. I also believe any law enforcement agency would alert the community if there was a need. I believe Coos Bay Police Department will do their job. We at the Women’s Safety & Resource Center will certainly do ours.

Judy Moody

Executive Director

Coos Bay