Students Discuss Rape Prevention
Dublin Core
Title
Students Discuss Rape Prevention
Subject
Rape--Prevention
Description
A newspaper article by Michael Mello on the discussion of rape prevention at Mary Washington College
Creator
Mello, Michael A.
Source
Mello, Michael A. "Students Discuss Rape Prevention." The Bullet, March 28, 1977.
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1977-03-28
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
3 JPG
300 dpi
Language
English
Coverage
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
“One American is raped every seventeen minutes.” –sociologist Amitai Etzioni
“I was walking down Campus Drive one evening and a guy in a car pulled over to the side to ask me if there were any good parties in the neighborhood. We started talking, and to facilitate the conversation I got into the front seat of the car. We had been talking for about an hour when a security officer told us to move on, so we went to 7-11 to get some cigarettes. Afterwards I expected him to just drive me back to campus, but instead he pulled out onto the highway. I was not really scared at this point, but as we got further and further away from civilization I suggested we head back towards MWC. In answer, he turned into a side road, parked and cut off the lights. Then he attacked me… for the first time in my life I was a believer in the death penalty.”
This particular kind of rape is called “casual acquaintance” assault by the police, happened to a MWC Freshman last November.
The girl eventually recovered, but not before undergoing a personal hell as indescribable as the event itself.
Cases such as the one presented above and how to prevent them was a subject of a presentation put on by the
Fredericksburg Combined Rape Task Force last Monday in A.C.L. The Task Force showed the film Rape: A Preventative Inquiry and held a panel discussion. Panelists included Commonwealth Attorney Chichester of Stafford County, Sgt. La Salle and officer Arrington of the Fredericksburg Police Department, and Jim Tally of the Fredericksburg Crisis Center.
Perhaps the most important question covered was how at least some of the estimated 160 rapes that occurred in the Fredericksburg planning district last year could be prevented. All of the panelists were in general agreement, but on several points their emphasis varied. Ms. Arrington stressed awareness as being the key element in prevention: “Be aware that it can happen to YOU… when you’re on the street, note what’s going on around you –be aware that you can be raped… there should be the fear, the awareness that this could happen to you.” More specifically, girls should avoid hitch-hiking: “When a girl gets into a car, she surrenders control –there is not a great deal she can do.”
Mr. Chichester believed that the laws regarding rape should be tightened up although the penalty for rape in Virginia is from five years to life; how much time the rapist really spends in jail depends on judges, juries and parole boards: “In the last two years, I would say that 90% of rapists in Virginia were back on the street after serving only 25% of their time –because the jails are so overcrowded… parole boards are like a swinging door.”
Should a girl resist rape? One police officer in the film summed up the entire question when he said “its better for the sex-crime division to have to handle a rape victim than a homicide squad to get her.” One rape victim said that “the best defense is to use your wits, keep cool; often you can talk your way out of it.” Mr. Chichester and Sgt. La Salle, however advised resistance on the part of the victim, stating that such resistance will often prevent an attempted rape from turning into a successful one.
There was complete unanimity on one point: the victim should report the crime as soon as possible. Only one rape in ten ever comes to the attention of the police, and this is one reason that so many women fall victim to this atrocity every year.
Further, the rape must be reported as soon after it occurred as possible: Mr. Chichester noted that “the longer you wait, the less the chances of conviction, a two week delay could reduce the chances of obtaining a conviction as much as 75%... a victim should report to the first person she sees, even if a complete stranger.”
A girl who has been raped should go to the nearest hospital emergency room as soon as possible. This is necessary for two reasons: first, she may be physically injured, at the very least, she will be in shock. Emergency room personnel are specifically trained to deal with such victims and they may also notify the police about the crime if the victim has not already done so. Secondly, the hospital will be equipped to preserve any perishable evidence that is essential to the preparation of a legal case. Mr. Chichester remarked that “the only crime harder to prosecute than rape is child beating” –and for this reason the corroborative evidence obtained from the hospital examination is critical. Also, the victim is interviewed by the police at the hospital.
All crimes in Virginia, including rape, are processed through a three-stage procedure. The first stage, the preliminary hearing, takes place before a General District Court Judge. If the judge finds enough evidence to support a charge, the case is referred to a grand jury. This grand jury, the second stage of the process, is composed of six citizens who decide if enough evidence exists to hand down an indictment; no lawyers are present at the hearing and everything is very informal. If the grand jury indicts, a trial, the final process, takes place. The trial may either be jury or judge, depending on the wishes of those involved.
Anyone wishing to become directly involved in rape counseling should contact the Crisis Center at 1008 Prince Edward St. or phone 373-8554. The Combined Rape Task Force should also be contacted. The Task Force was created last year, and has as its goals, public education, and crisis counseling. The chairperson of the Task Force is Karen Johnson, and she may be reached at 371-2719.
“I was walking down Campus Drive one evening and a guy in a car pulled over to the side to ask me if there were any good parties in the neighborhood. We started talking, and to facilitate the conversation I got into the front seat of the car. We had been talking for about an hour when a security officer told us to move on, so we went to 7-11 to get some cigarettes. Afterwards I expected him to just drive me back to campus, but instead he pulled out onto the highway. I was not really scared at this point, but as we got further and further away from civilization I suggested we head back towards MWC. In answer, he turned into a side road, parked and cut off the lights. Then he attacked me… for the first time in my life I was a believer in the death penalty.”
This particular kind of rape is called “casual acquaintance” assault by the police, happened to a MWC Freshman last November.
The girl eventually recovered, but not before undergoing a personal hell as indescribable as the event itself.
Cases such as the one presented above and how to prevent them was a subject of a presentation put on by the
Fredericksburg Combined Rape Task Force last Monday in A.C.L. The Task Force showed the film Rape: A Preventative Inquiry and held a panel discussion. Panelists included Commonwealth Attorney Chichester of Stafford County, Sgt. La Salle and officer Arrington of the Fredericksburg Police Department, and Jim Tally of the Fredericksburg Crisis Center.
Perhaps the most important question covered was how at least some of the estimated 160 rapes that occurred in the Fredericksburg planning district last year could be prevented. All of the panelists were in general agreement, but on several points their emphasis varied. Ms. Arrington stressed awareness as being the key element in prevention: “Be aware that it can happen to YOU… when you’re on the street, note what’s going on around you –be aware that you can be raped… there should be the fear, the awareness that this could happen to you.” More specifically, girls should avoid hitch-hiking: “When a girl gets into a car, she surrenders control –there is not a great deal she can do.”
Mr. Chichester believed that the laws regarding rape should be tightened up although the penalty for rape in Virginia is from five years to life; how much time the rapist really spends in jail depends on judges, juries and parole boards: “In the last two years, I would say that 90% of rapists in Virginia were back on the street after serving only 25% of their time –because the jails are so overcrowded… parole boards are like a swinging door.”
Should a girl resist rape? One police officer in the film summed up the entire question when he said “its better for the sex-crime division to have to handle a rape victim than a homicide squad to get her.” One rape victim said that “the best defense is to use your wits, keep cool; often you can talk your way out of it.” Mr. Chichester and Sgt. La Salle, however advised resistance on the part of the victim, stating that such resistance will often prevent an attempted rape from turning into a successful one.
There was complete unanimity on one point: the victim should report the crime as soon as possible. Only one rape in ten ever comes to the attention of the police, and this is one reason that so many women fall victim to this atrocity every year.
Further, the rape must be reported as soon after it occurred as possible: Mr. Chichester noted that “the longer you wait, the less the chances of conviction, a two week delay could reduce the chances of obtaining a conviction as much as 75%... a victim should report to the first person she sees, even if a complete stranger.”
A girl who has been raped should go to the nearest hospital emergency room as soon as possible. This is necessary for two reasons: first, she may be physically injured, at the very least, she will be in shock. Emergency room personnel are specifically trained to deal with such victims and they may also notify the police about the crime if the victim has not already done so. Secondly, the hospital will be equipped to preserve any perishable evidence that is essential to the preparation of a legal case. Mr. Chichester remarked that “the only crime harder to prosecute than rape is child beating” –and for this reason the corroborative evidence obtained from the hospital examination is critical. Also, the victim is interviewed by the police at the hospital.
All crimes in Virginia, including rape, are processed through a three-stage procedure. The first stage, the preliminary hearing, takes place before a General District Court Judge. If the judge finds enough evidence to support a charge, the case is referred to a grand jury. This grand jury, the second stage of the process, is composed of six citizens who decide if enough evidence exists to hand down an indictment; no lawyers are present at the hearing and everything is very informal. If the grand jury indicts, a trial, the final process, takes place. The trial may either be jury or judge, depending on the wishes of those involved.
Anyone wishing to become directly involved in rape counseling should contact the Crisis Center at 1008 Prince Edward St. or phone 373-8554. The Combined Rape Task Force should also be contacted. The Task Force was created last year, and has as its goals, public education, and crisis counseling. The chairperson of the Task Force is Karen Johnson, and she may be reached at 371-2719.
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Fesak, Mary
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Mello, Michael A., “Students Discuss Rape Prevention,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/39.