Fifty rape victims tell their stories

Press, 17 June 1983, Page 13

Fifty rape victims tell their stories

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

Sweeping reforms are proposed in the way the police and courts deal with rape. The recommendations, in a big report on rape just released, seek to give more protection to rape victims and change attitudes throughout New Zealand towards this crime and violence against women generally.

The report is based on a study conducted by Victoria University’s Criminology Institute and will prepare for new legislation planned to enter Parliament later this year.

Researchers interviewed 50 rape victims, studied the police processing of rape complaints in 1981, surveyed lawyers and judges and analysed High Court files. The report finds that rape is not more likely to occur in certain places, at certain times or to certain women.

The fifty women interviewed in the study were involved in 54 rape events. Ten of these were in the victim’s home, seven in the assailant’s home, and seven in the home of

both. Nine were in another home, six in a car, 14 in a public place, with one other.

None of the 54 rape events occurred between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Two were between 6-9 p.m., 13 between 9 p.m.-midnight, 20 between midnight-3 a.m., seven between 3-6 a.m., with four at unknown times and three at various times.

Forty of the 54 rape events involved one assailant. Six involved two attackers, one involved three, one involved four, one involved five, three involved six, one involved eight, and one involved 10 assailants.

Nine of the victims were aged less than 17 years, 18 were aged 1720 years, 10 were aged 21-25 years, eight were aged 26-30 years, six were aged 31-40 years, two were aged 41-50 years, none were aged more than 50 years, and the age of one was not reported.

Nine of the victims were married and 39 single, with two

widowed, two divorced, one separated, and one in a de facto relationship. Forty-five of the victims were Caucasian, seven Maori and two Pacific Islander.

Seven were schoolgirls, two tertiary students, eight unemployed, 10 unskilled, five skilled, five professional, 13 housewives or solo mothers, and the occupation of four was not recorded.

The report estimated that a victim had a 50 per cent chance of being raped by a stranger and 34 per cent by a friend. There is said to be a 1 per cent chance by an ex-lover or boyfriend, 3 per cent by a friend (non-sexual), 2 per cent by a boyfriend, 1 per cent by a date, 7 per cent by a husband, and 2 per cent by another relative.

These percentages are reached from the total number of rapists involved in the 54 rape events.

Four of the 50 women were raped on more than one occasion.

Four main issues about the present handling of rape cases are

raised in the report. The time taken to conclude a case is found to be of concern. The average length of time from the offence to the conclusion of the case is found to have been 5.7 months.

The. use of written depositions and the privacy of the complainant at preliminary hearings are another issue. The composition of juries is another. The report says that in 73.4 per cent of trials studied, the juries included more males than females.

Section 23A of the Evidence Act, 1908 is the fourth issue. It is intended to provide the complainant with protection from unauthorised questioning or her previous sexual experience with people other than the accused. However, the complainant’s previous sexual experience was mentioned during 24 of the 71 preliminary hearings and during 21 of the 64 trials in the study. These references had been authorised in only seven cases.