"A Day in the Life of ... a Rape Crisis Advocate" Blog Contest
Thank you to the advocates who submitted a blog post. We chose 6 finalists, and will feature a new story each week.
We hope you enjoy reading about the fascinating experiences
of these rape crisis advocates!
Week 1: Laura, from the Mt Sinai Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program
Week 2: Vicki, from The Awareness Center
Week 3: Ihotu, from the Crime Victims Treatment Center
Week 4: Meredith, from Beth Israel Medical Center Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence Intervention Program
Week 5: Kristin, from Mt Sinai Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention (SAVI) Program
NY1 has been reporting on the case of two NYPD officers who allegedly returned the East Village apartment of an intoxicated woman –not once, but twice–while one raped her and the other stood by. These two partners in crime escorted her home after a cab driver called 911 to report that the woman was too drunk to leave his cab in December. They each plead not guilty on Tuesday in state supreme court and face charges of rape, burglary and official misconduct. They are due back in court on May 21st.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who rarely comments on investigations into police misconduct, says the officers have been suspended from regular duty.
“It is simply outrageous that police officers are summoned to help and alleged to have taken advantage of this woman,” Kelly said. “The public needs to know that the police will be there to protect them, and they can know that.”
Says District Attorney Robert Morgenthau:
“The investigation further revealed that while in the apartment, Moreno had sexual intercourse with a physically-helpless victim, as she laid down on her bed having previously vomited multiple times.”
That’s enough to make me vomit.
Check out Nicholas Kristof’s column “Is Rape Serious?” in the Times today, where he remarks on the blatant negligence of the criminal justice system in processing rape kits swiftly, if ever.
This piece seems be in response to the Human Rights Watch report released last month which exposed a backlog of over 12,000 rape kits that are all sitting idly in a police storage facility somewhere in Los Angeles, California. Apparently more than 450 of these kits sat untouched for over ten years–deeming many irrelevant due to an expired statute of limitations.
This inaction sends a booming message of apathy. As if victims are not discouraged enough. Already 60% of rapes go unnreported. Do we really need to give victims another reason to hesitate coming forward?
It’s not just Craigslist playing host to predators — a man who was convicted in 2007 of sexually assualting two Philadelphia women he met online on Match.com is facing additional rape charges in a new trial in Idaho. The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting:
Jeffrey J. Marsalis, 35, had met nine of the Philadelphia-area women on the Internet dating site Match.com. He pretended to be a doctor and an astronaut, and told some women he was a CIA agent or had CIA connections.
Jury selection for the trial began on April 20, after a motion to sequester was denied but a change of venue has been granted due to the media attention the case is receiving. While the trial was initially expected to last a week, no verdict has yet been reported.
The Internet has always been a scary place, hasn’t it?
Also interesting to note:
Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas has agreed with defense attorney Douglas Nelson that information on Marsalis’ Pennsylvania convictions will not be introduced as evidence during the trial.
More info on Marsalis here and here.
