The news has reported that one young woman was raped and another was groped at Edmonds Community College. It’s not pretty but it is important to talk about.
Sadly most times these incidents are not reported in the local paper, but now that local news stations have taken an interest in our county we are sure to hear more and more. I do what I can to keep them engaged but the citizens must also get involved and notify them as well.
RAAIN has established some guidelines to protect yourself
While you can never completely protect yourself from sexual assault, there are some things you can do to help reduce your risk of being assaulted.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Knowing where you are and who is around you may help you to find a way to get out of a bad situation.
- Try to avoid isolated areas. It is more difficult to get help if no one is around.
- Walk with purpose. Even if you don’t know where you are going, act like you do.
- Trust your instincts. If a situation or location feels unsafe or uncomfortable, it probably isn’t the best place to be.
- Try not to load yourself down with packages or bags as this can make you appear more vulnerable.
- Make sure your cell phone is with you and charged and that you have cab money.
- Don’t allow yourself to be isolated with someone you don’t trust or someone you don’t know.
- Avoid putting music headphones in both ears so that you can be more aware of your surroundings, especially if you are walking alone.
The one they seemed to have left out is the buddy system, try to walk with someone at all times when you are in a vulnerable position.
I would suggest that you print these out and memorize them then share them with every single woman and man that you know.
Yes men too, men are raped far more then is ever reported, if you stop to consider that only 1 in 5 women report being raped to authorities, you can safely assume that maybe 1 in 1000 men will ever report being raped.
The most important thing to understand about rape is that even though it is classified as a “Sex Crime” it has as much to do with sex as granola has to do with opera.
It is an act of violence, meant to shame, humiliate and degrade the victim. So of course men are prime targets, they can be victimized because they won’t tell leaving the predator free to continue his path of violence.
No matter what age or gender this is a conversation that needs to be shared in every living room, in every work place, on every college campus, in every corner of this country.
