ONE MUST NOT BE SILENT

by Irina Romanenko, student in the faculty of practical psychology of the Interdisciplinary Study and Research Center in Moscow. Her studies there were sponsored by the women’s NGO, “Femina” and the Institute of Management, both in Naberezhnye Chelny

Author’s Introduction: The first study has been conducted in our city, Naberezhnye Chelny, on the population’s attitude to the problem of sexual violence and its victims.

In the survey, 506 people – 328 (65%) women and 178 (35%) men were questioned. Two thirds were youth under the age of 20 and less than one third of the respondents were married.

As we supposed, the overwhelming majority (97%) think sexual violence is bad and feel pity or sympathy for its victims.

Two thirds think those attacked are the victims of circumstance, but every fifth woman and almost every second man thinks the victims provoked the attack by suggestive dress, loose behavior, drinking and smoking, and so forth. Some think it is a combination of both, first the behavior, and then circumstances take over.

The majority, 67% of women and 52% of men, cited a specific example of sexual violence, mostly happening to girls and women, … but 3% of the examples involved men as victims.

Two thirds of the cited victims were raped and there were also cases of forced oral and anal intercourse, and 6 cases of incest. Quite a few examples were cited of sexual crimes not involving physical contact: exhibitionism – 35 cases; verbal assaults – 31; dirty telephone talk – 12; voyeurism – 4; child pornography – 2. …

The victims were mostly in the age group 15-20, with the 10-15 age group coming second, followed by those 20-25.

Some of the respondents (5% pf women and 6.2% of men) cited a time when they themselves almost became a victim and avoided it thanks to self-confidence or physical strength or help from friends and passersby. But 7% of respondents became victims. …

We may assume that there is a serious crisis of popular trust in the police – an assumption supported by the fact that only one person mentioned the police as a factor in prevention of violence. According to data gathered by Russia’s crisis centers, only 3% of rape victims go to the organs of the law, while the rest prefer “not to get involved with them.” They are afraid of publicity, humiliating legal investigations, and of possible persecution from relatives and friends of the rapist.

Why? The traditional attitude toward victims is full of prejudices that essentially say, “she herself is guilty.” Often this attitude is held by those who should be the first to give medical, legal, and moral help. As a result, our society has a large stratum of unregistered and therefore unpunished crime that continues to increase.

The adult population with children is afraid for their safety … that they could become victims of sexual violence. …

The government by doing nothing to protect its citizens, is pushing them to self defense and, what is worse, to lynch law. …

All respondents were asked what steps could be taken by the city government, the educational institutions, the mass media, and the population of Naberezhnye Chelny to prevent and decrease sexual violence.

Respondents called attention to poor lighting in streets and hallways, to fewer buses and trolleys after 9 in the evening, not enough patrolling of streets at night, especially in the housing communities, to people not having assured employment and youth having too little to do with leisure time.

The most frequent appeal to the educational institutions was for the education of pupils by highly qualified psychologists, sexologists, and medical specialists, and for training sessions that would instill habits of quick reaction, evaluation and sensible decision-making, and for courses in self-defense. It was recommended that police be stationed in or nearby schools, institutes and universities to prevent attacks.

It was proposed that the government of the republic of Tatarstan [inside Russia and one of its 89 or so territorial-administrative units] make the laws applying to rapists more severe, and tighten its control over the organs of the law in cases where they decline to take a statement from a victim of violence. The mass media were asked to write and talk about healthy lifestyles and to give up-to-date correct information, since by keeping silent on the widespread incidence of sexual violence in our city, by giving the impression of its absence, we will hardly diminish the problem. Many respondents consider that television, the print press, and videos are in fact one of the main culprits in the spread of the cult of violence and cruelty.

Even if you try to see it from the position of those who think rape is brought on by the victim herself, this should not justify the behavior of the criminal.

Before you “throw a stone” at the victim, think that the next time it could happen to you or to someone dear to you.

The time has come, and urgently, to get off the sidelines where you are in silent complicity with everyday arbitrariness in our city.