I don't know where the changes should or can start. I do know that the rapist certainly won't be convicted if the victim never complains.
It just seems to me that if rape victims never talk about what happened to them then they are not helping with the problem you discuss, and could possibly be making it worse.
If 5% of drink-spiking rape victims go to the police, and 5% of those result in conviction, then potential drink-spikers can act with impunity because their chances of being caught and convicted are very low. If 80% of rape victims go to the police, rapists are likely to go to court and have a higher chance of conviction (still only 4% though).
And if the rate of sexual abuse complaints increases significantly, it may provide political capital for people in parliament who would like to change things.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2007-05-24 11:23 pm (UTC)It just seems to me that if rape victims never talk about what happened to them then they are not helping with the problem you discuss, and could possibly be making it worse.
If 5% of drink-spiking rape victims go to the police, and 5% of those result in conviction, then potential drink-spikers can act with impunity because their chances of being caught and convicted are very low. If 80% of rape victims go to the police, rapists are likely to go to court and have a higher chance of conviction (still only 4% though).
And if the rate of sexual abuse complaints increases significantly, it may provide political capital for people in parliament who would like to change things.