Sexual assault awareness: No reports doesn't mean it's not happening

Victim's Advocate Tina Zickefoose of OneEighty of Wayne and Holmes County was on hand at the Holmes County Commissioners meeting to accept a proclamation recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The purpose of the proclamation is to call attention to widespread sexual violence that impacts every community and raises public awareness about abuse, harassment and educates citizens about how to get involved in prevention efforts, according to Commissioner Dave Hall.

Hall shared statistics such as an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds, and every nine minutes that victim is a child. About 80 percent of sexual assaults are committed by someone who is known to the victim, he said.

About 66 percent of child rape victims are aged 13-17 and about 34 percent are under the age of 12.

Rape and sexual assault affect women, children and men of all cultural, racial and economic backgrounds, he added.

The emotional and physical trauma resulting from sexual violence is often severe and long lasting, Hall said. Victims may suffer such adverse consequences as post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, depression, homelessness, eating disorders and suicide.

"Individuals can raise their voice to show their support for survivors, stand up to victim blaming, shut down rape joke, correct harmful misconceptions, promote consent, and practice healthy communication with kids," the proclamation said.

Zickefoose said the area is fortunate to have the Child Advocacy Center in Wooster, where most of the victims under 16 go. There are about 30 counties in Ohio that don't have a shelter to go to, she said.

Assailants are known to victims

"We grew up thinking 'stranger danger', when in fact, it's usually someone the victim knows," she said. "We're considered a rape crisis center in Wayne County. One of our advocates responds to the hospital for about three rapes a month."

She added advocates are the only people at a hospital not wanting something from the victims.

"Law enforcement is there, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) nurse is there," Zickefoose said. "We're there to support them any way we can. This is the second year in a row there have been none from Holmes County reported there."

That doesn't mean sexual assaults aren't happening. They are just going unreported, she said.

"The victims are traumatized. Once you've had a trauma like that, most people just want to forget about it and put it behind them." she said. "They don't realize that there are repercussions down the road. Unfortunately, it starts showing in other ways, such as health issues, emotionally and physically, when they come in for counseling."

A sense of self-imposed guilt

She pointed out there is still a stigma that the victims asked for it by their actions, such as drinking too much or dressing provocatively.

"They are afraid it will become a 'he said, she said' thing, so they don't want to get further involved," Zickefoose said. "Victims have a sense of self-imposed guilt that they somehow have done something they shouldn't have."

Zickefoose noted a powerful display she has put up in years past called "What Were You Wearing," where 11 victims shared their stories with her. She displayed similar clothing to what the victims were wearing at the time of the rape.

"Five of the 11 victims came to the office and immediately and were able to pick out what they were wearing," she said. "It doesn't matter what you're wearing. That is never a cause, but there are still a group out there who think the victim asked for it."

Zickefoose added she is promoting awareness by using sayings from the national campaign for Start by Believing such as "I believe you" or "No is a complete sentence."

"This is just a horrific, horrific experience," Zickefoose said. "And nobody likes to talk about it. There is a lot that just goes unreported."

She said victims assaulted in Holmes County often do not follow up on reporting the incident because they have to self-transport to either Aultman Hospital in Orrville or Wooster Community Hospital to meet with the SANE nurse.

"The last two years, we haven't had anybody from Holmes County that has gone on to any of the hospitals up there," she said. "Again, a lot of the victims are children, so they are going to the CAC."

Reliving the trauma

Hall said the challenge he sees is when the victim goes to trial, the victim seems to be on trial.

"That's a huge issue," Hall said. "It's difficult for individuals, because they are basically being traumatized all over again."

"Every time they have to retell the story, it just brings the event back up again," Zickefoose said. "So often, we find that people think the victims are lying because sometimes when we are traumatized, things are like snapshots and in their initial report, they may have forgotten a lot of things because their brain blocks things out. But as time goes on, they remember more."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes sexual assault victim's advocate highlights need for awareness