The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, September 23, 1980- Page 7
FEELS SH AME AND GUIL T IN AFTERMA TH
Ra e
(Continued from Page I
perienced in the aftermath of rape.
For Beth and most other rape victims
the actual assault is not the worst part
of the experience. The insensitive
responses from friends and family and
the overwhelming feelings of shame
and guilt that occur afterwards cause
the most pain and anguish.
"I told one guy about it shortly after it
happened," Beth related. "He said, 'It
doesn't sound like any big deal to me
because you knew him:' I told him to
get out of my life.' -
"I LOST A LOT of girlfriends too,"
she continued, "I feel kind of lonely
now. They couldn't handle what had
happened to me. They couldn't talk to
me about it, and they just sort of drifted
away. I felt if they couldn't accept that
part of me, they couldn't accept me
period."
At the time, Beth was having a
relationship with a graduate student in
the University School of Business Ad-
ministration.
"When I told him he sort of freaked
out. We broke up because he couldn't
handle it. He thought he should have
been able to protect me, and look what
happened."
Several months later, Beth told her
mother.
"AT FIRST SHE reacted by just
ignoring me," she recalled. "Then she
started blaming me for what happened.
It took me six months to convince her it
wasn't my fault. Still, when the subject
comes up, she doesn't have the right at-
titude. But she's getting there."
Beth's father, who is a physician, was
even less empathic.
"I told him I had been raped, and that
I hadn't been. checked out by a doctor. I
asked him if "I should go get an
examination, so he says to me, 'How's
school going?' He couldn't face it."
BETH HAD TO COPE with other
numerous problems. Her assailant con-
tinually phoned her to beg forgiveness.
One night at work, Beth said, they got
into an argument because she refused
to forgive him. He pulled a knife on her
just as another worker walked into the
room. The assailant was fired a week
later.
"When I told my immediate super-
visor about the knife, he wouldn't do
anything about it because he was afraid
of him too," Beth said. "I had to go to
his supervisor before anything was
done."
Before the rape, Beth had mentioned
to her immediate supervisor that her
victim describes traumat
0
assailant would at times make sexual
innuendos that she would shrug off.
"When I told him, all he did was make
sexist comments like "Well, you just
shouldn't be so cute.' "
Although the assailant was even-
tually fired, more problems related to
the rape began to surface.
"ONE NIGHT WHILE I was
sleeping, someone tried to break into
my house," she said "It may have been
him, I quickly moved out and changed
my phone number."
At work, Beth was ostracized by the
other employees, because they thought
her assailant was a "real nice guy."
Though the other employees were not
aware of the rape, her union was. Beth
said the union continually intimidated
her. "The union accused me of sleeping
with every guy on the midnight shift,
and I hadn't slept with one!" She even-
tually quit the job.
'If I have one word of advice
for rape victims, it's get coun-
seling and stay with it until
you can handle it on you
own. '
-Beth, a rape victim
"On TV the women get harrassed at
the police station," she said.
"THAT'S NOT THE way it is in
reality. Our officers are very sen-
sitive," explained an Ann Arbor police
officer. "The first thing we do when a
woman comes in is determine whether
she's hurt. If so, we take her to the
University Hospital for treatment. At
the hospital a special group of doctors
examines her. Then someone from the
Assault Crisis Center will come to the
hospital to counsel her."
The officer said if it is determined the
victim is not hurt, she will be asked if
she would mind talking to one of the
male investigators. If she prefers
talking to a woman, the police will
locate a female investigator to conduct
the interview, he said.
Some of the questions asked include:
" What happened at the scene of the
crime?
" What are the physical charac-
teristics of the assailant?
" What kind of conversation did the
victim have with the assailant? and,
" Where was the location of the
crime?
After the interview, the victim is
taken to the hospital, even if it has been
determined no penetration took place
during the assault. The police then try
to line up suspects, the officer said.
"If the crime took place months ago,
the woman should still come in,
because many times we can build a
case," he noted. "But it's best to come
in immediately after the incident."
When Beth reported her case to the
police, she said they told her that since'
she had not come in right after the rape,
it would be difficult to build a case
against her assailant. -
"The police tried to get the
prosecutor to take the case, but he said
it would be just the rapist's word again-
st mine. Plus I had no one backing me
up from work," Beth explained. "The
police are still looking for him, but he
left town ages ago. I'd like to see him,
behind bars, but I don't think I could
face him in court, or put up with those
awful questions you see on TV all the
time."
THE OFFICER SAID IF a case is
brought to court, the assumption that
women are interrogated insensitively is
wrong.
"In the majority of cases, the trial is
closed, no spectators are allowed in the
court room," he explained, "The defen-
se attorney will not inquire into the vic-
tim's past sex life-it's none of his
business."
Today Beth is more careful. She said
she feels differently about life, people,
and violence. If she hears a joke that
involves violence against women, she
protests against it. Beth finds it difficult
to trust people, even good friends. She
rarely goes out at night anymore, and if
she does, she does not go alone.
"A lot of my friends think I'm overly
cautious," she said, "They think I'm
crazy because I'm always pointing
things out to them like, 'Just don't open
the door when somebody knocks.'"
Beth also has difficulty developing
meaningful relationships with men.
"I've dated a couple of guys, but I
can't seem to get any kind of relation-
ship going, she said, "Like after a date,
I don't know if I know him well enough
to give him my phone number, and I
don't know whether to ask him in. I
knew that guy from work for a whole
year, and he raped me."
SHE DOESN'T HAVE nightmares
anymore. She often dreamt her
assailant was going to come back at
night and shoot her.
"Every now and then I'll get violently
emotional about it, even to the point of
crying," Beth related.
This past summer she briefly took
part in the center's support group
program. Part of the program requires
each participant to tell her story to the
group.
"This one girl sitting next to me was
telling the group her story, it had just
happened to her," Beth said, "as she
told it I began to shake from top to bot-
tom. I felt sick. I was a wreck from just
listening to her because I knew how she
felt. I couldn't get any sleep for the next
two weeks."
Beth said her private counseling at
the Michigan Union helped her immen-
sely. She said it enabled her to put the
incident behind her to allow her to move
to other things. It also made her more
aware of important feminist issues, she
added.
"I spend a lot of time studying
now-it helps me to escape," she
remarked. "If I have one word of ad-
vice for rape victims, it's get coun-
seling and stay with it until you feel you
can handle it on your own."
ALTHOUGH BETH HAD a bad ex-
perience with the center's support
group program, Price said many group
members made tremendous progress
towards improving self-esteem, and
other assault related issues.
ic experience
The crisis center worker had some and will provide inforr
negative things to say about the * Michigan sexuala
University's procedure for handling ' Statistics on rap
rapes. County; and
"Michigan's security system is . Rape prevention a
decentralized," she noted. You have a According to Price,
housing security people, campus plan the assault in ad
security people, etc. Where the crime pick victims they t
takes place determines how the case is "Usually the assa
handled." "Us atheassail
She noted Eastern Michigan Univer- victim for at least 10
sity has one central police department plained, "he wants to
with people specially trained to help hell Ayfsthill
rape victims. he'llsay something lu
PRICE ALSO SAID THE Center has or he'll grab part of th
received calls from University women see what kind of react
who have been sexually harrassed in her."
the. Centeal Campus Recreation She said if the victi
Building. to his encroachmen
"Some said they've been harassed in frightened away. B
the CCRB and then followed home," she assailant senses he c
said. "Last year there was a woman victim, he'll becomei
who was assaulted while jogging in the and may say somethi
Geddes Street area." and dowhat I say or I
She also said the Arboretum, despite For Beth, she hopes
its beauty, is one place women should over her guilt and put
not walk or jog through alone. She candidly admits,
Tomorrow and Thursday, the Depar- for the rest of my li
tment of Recreational Sports and the "Next year, I'll re
Committee for Women will be spon- she said with a broad
soring workshops on rape prevention. I hope to do somethin
The workshops will be held in Angell I'd do anything if one
Hall Aud. C from 5:30 to 7:30 each some woman not feel
evening. The sessions will ,be informal termath."
mation on:
assault laws;
pe in Washtenaw
and safety tips.
many rapists will
avance. They will
hink can be in-
ilant talks to he
minutes," she ex-
check out the vic-
friendly, but then
de or threatening,
e victim's body to
ion he'll get out of
m reacts strongly
nt, he might be
However, if the
an intimidate the
more aggressive,
ing like, "shut up
IIl kill you."
Sone day she'll get
Iit all. behind her.
"It will bother me
ife."
ceive my Ph.D."
smile. "Someday
g to help women.
day I could help
I guilty in the af-
Beth stressed her biggest problem
since the rape has been coping with her
guilt complex.
* "You say to yourself, maybe I didn't
fight hard enough or how could I be so
dumb to trust someone I knew for only a
year," she said.
ONE SATURDAY AFTERNOON,
about a month and a half after the rape,
Beth found herself crying fiercely over
the incident. She called the Assault
Crisis Center, which immediately sent
someone to get her.
"At the Crisis Center we just talked
about what happened and everything.
They were really helpful," she said.
"After I finished up my finals, )e went
to the police."
Beth said she had not wanted to go to
the police at first, because she had seen
movies in which rape victims had to
strip down and have pictures taken of
them.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
4:15 pm WESLEY LOUNGE (State& Huron)
Guatemala IPElSalvador
Churchpeople in the struggle. Also a discussion of the possi-
bilities of U.S. intervention.
Phillip Berryman has been with the American Friends
Service Committee for the past four years in Guatemala. His
most recent publication is "What Happened at Puebla?" in
Church and Politics in Latin America, Daniel Levine, ed.
--also--'
6:30 pm Potluck Supper, Friends Meeting House, 1420
Hill St.
7:30 pm Lecture and Discussion of Central America and
Churchpeople in the'Struggleffor Change.
for information AFSC 761-8283 or Ethics & Relig. 764-7442
Manufacturer recalls tampons
I
From AP and UPI
CINCINNATI-Procter & Gamble
Co.. suspended sale of its Rely tampons
yesterday and offered full refunds for
the product which was cited last week
in connection with a sometimesfatal
disease afflicting some tampon users.
Procter & Gamble said it has asked
retailers across the country to remove
Rely from shelves.
CONSUMERS WHO have the product
and wish to obtain a refund can do so by
writing Procter & Gamble at P.O. Box
85519, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202.
The company's voluntary action
follows last week's federal Food and
Drug Administration disclosure of a
study indicating that Rely users may
suffer 'a disproportionate incidence of
toxic shock syndrome.
The study, by the national Center for
Disease Control in Atlanta, found that
more women who suffered from the
bacteria-caused disease this past July
and August used Rely than any other
tampon brand.
PROCTER & GAMBLE Chairman
Edward Harness said the voluntary
recall was a showing of good faith on
the part of the company until more
medical evidence is available on the
link between tampons and toxic shock
syndrome.
In announcing the sales suspension,
Procter & Gamble chairman Edward
Harness said, "We are taking this ac-
tion to remove Rely and the company
from the controversy surrounding a
new disease called toxic shock syn-
drome.
"This is being done despite the fact
that we know of no defect in the Rely
tampon and despite evidence that the
withdrawal of Rely will not eliminate
the occurrence of TSS even if Rely's use
is completely discontinued."
HE NOTED THAT toxic shock cases
have been reported in Canada and
areas of the United States where Rely
tampons are not sold.
The company said Rely was tested
for safety before it went on the market
in the West and Midwest in 1974. The
company also said the recall could cost
the company up to $75 million, a 91 cen-
ts per share loss to stockholders.
Last spring, the Center for Disease
Control confirmed studies in Minnesota
and Wisconsin indicating a link bet-
ween tampon use and toxic shock syn
drome, a disease characterized by sud-
den onset of high fever, vomiting,
diarrhea, a sunburn-like rash, and a
rapid drop in blook -pressure often
leading to shock.
THE CENTER SAID last week that it
had recorded nearly 300 cases of the
syndrome already this year, with 25
fatalities since 1975. Nearly all the vic-
tims have been women age 30 or
younger and were stricken during or af-
ter their menstrual periods.
~~- -
"-0
Still missing
a book for.
one of. your
courses?
Because of
publishers out of stock
Nader
blasts-
standard
testing
Continued from Page 1)
gerated significance" by admissions of-
ficers. Nader said high school grades
are "about twice as good" in predicting
college performance.
Despite these shortcomings and inac-
curacies of standardized testing, ac-
cording to Nader, "these tests open and
close the gates" to educational and oc-
cupational opportunities.
Nader harshly criticized the "in-
tellectual arrogance" of ETS, claiming
their test scores often determined what
schools and occupations a student could
enter.
"How does society decide who to let
itowhat schools?" he asked, con-
eluding that standardized test scores
are the determining factor.
The tests do not measure, for the
most part, other important deter-
minants of college success such as
motivation, diligence, creativity, and
judgment, Nader said. "They take the
human mind. .. in all its complexity,
(and) try to shove it through a multiple
I
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