RCC Online Volunteer Training Classes

The following self directed tutorials are to be completed prior to June classroom sessions.  The dates for the in class sessions are as follows:

November 1st Monday  5:30-9:00PM

November 3rd  Wednesday 5:30-9:00PM

November 6th Saturday 9:00am- 3:00PM

November 8th Monday 5:30-9:00PM

November 10th Wednesday 5:30-9:00PM

November 14th Monday 5:30-9:00PM

November 16th Wednesday 5:30-9:00PM

 

Training classes will be at the Rape Crisis Center at 321 West Exchange St. in Akron, OH 44302.

 

CLASS ONE

 Rape Crisis and the Women's Movement

In the 1960's and 1970's, radical social change was occurring in American culture.  The civil rights movement and a second wave of feminism were blooming, and women across the United States were sharing experiences with each other and with society in general.  It was through their efforts to increase awareness that their voices were heard for the first time.  Their courage to share the experience of sexual assault and rape led to individual and community responses to try and meet the need of survivors of sexual violence.

Rape crisis intervention was the result of breaking women's silence, and the first efforts to help survivors were informal and victim centered.  Some rape crisis centers began as weekly or monthly meetings in an advocate's home or local church.  Others were simply a telephone line in a basement dedicated to helping victims of sexual assault.  A long-time crisis advocate described what early crisis intervention work entailed:

"We didn't have any plans or any books....but as we listened to the victims, we certainly got a sense of what was going to work and what wasn't.  And so it was the victims themselves, I believe, that started this field and certainly it was the sexual assault field in the 70's that did it." -Janet Rench of Massachusetts

In the initial rape crisis movement, women donated their time and money to early organizational efforts.  Local businesses, churches and nonprofit organizations donated space, funding and staff.  Rape crisis advocates recognized that emotional crisis was one type of injury inflicted through a sexual assault.  Advocates focused on helping survivors rebuild their lives rather than focus on the justice system, where survivors were often mistreated.  Early rape crisis centers were shaped by need and circumstance, and when resources were lacking, it came down to the simple concept of women helping women.

Rape crisis advocates, along with other feminists, fought to change the treatment of women and victims of sexual assault.  Women, by telling their stories, increased public awareness and encouraged other survivors to share their experiences to facilitate healing.  In 1975, Susan Brownmiller's book, Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, helped increase awareness and also re-conceptualized rape as a crime of violence and not passion.  Advocates for rape reform sought to improve treatment of victims through educational efforts and legal change.  Training for law enforcement officials was offered to help police officers deal with the sensitive nature of personal assaults.  Self-defense classes were also offered as prevention programming.  Legal advocates fought to expand the definition of rape to include marital rape.  They also fought to change the focus from a victim's behavior, including whether there was sufficient resistance or not, to the perpretrator's conduct.  Legal advocates also tried to increase conviction rates for perpetrators as well as create legislation to protect the rights of survivors.  One of the most significant laws to be passed was the Rape Shield Law, which prevented victims from having to reveal their sexual histories during cross examination.

 Akron Rape Crisis Movement

The Rape Crisis Center of Akron began in 1974 as a hotline in the basement of an Akron woman's home.  From 1976 to 1980, the Rape Crisis Center worked independently.  Tthe Center survived on grants from the Law Enforcement assistance administration, which allowed the agency to hire a full-time director, a part-time staff member and also develop hospital advocacy and counseling programs using a volunteer staff.  In 1982, funding for the Rape Crisis Center dwindled, and in 1982, the agency merged with the YWCA.  Over time, lack of funding again became an issue and donations alone were inadequate to support the rape crisis services.  As such, the Battered Women's Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties acquired the Rape Crisis Center of Akron in 2005, after the YWCA of Summit County was dissolved.

What is Rape?

  • Rape is a form of sexual assault that includes, but is not limited to, forcible vaginal, anal or oral penetration.
  • Rape is an act of violence and is not an act of sex of passion.  Its pupose is to control, humiliate and dominate a victim through use of force.  Force can be physical or verbal and can occur without use of physical restraint or weapons.
  • Different kinds of rape include acquaintance rape, date rape, gang rape, male rape, marital rape, stranger rape, childhood sexual abuse or incest.
  • The Ohio Revised Code legally defines rape in the following manner:  "No one is to engage in sexual conduct with another person when: a) offender impairs the person's judgment /control by administering a drug/controlled substance secretly or by force, threat of force or deception, or b) the other person is younger than 13 regardless of whether offender knows, or c) the other person's ability to resist or consent is substantially impaired by mental or physical condition, or advanced age, and the offender knows/reasonable cause to believe this.  No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another when the offender purposely compels the other person to submit by force or threat of force.  Victim need not prove physical resistance to the offender.

What is Sexual Assault?

  • Sexual assault/sexual abuse refer to acts of sexual contact or conduct performed upon one person by another, either without consent or when one person is unable to give consent due to age or mental or physical incapacity.
  • Sexual assault is typically a one-time incident while sexual abuse refers to ongoing victimization.
  • Many different legal terms define specific forms of sexual assault and include rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition and sexual penetration.
  • Sexual assault does not always involve penetration and includes sexual contact such as fondling breasts or genitals without consent or forcing a minor to view pornography.
  • Some examples of sexual assault include verbal/street harassment, work/school harassment, child sexual abuse including incest, attempted rape and rape.

Types of Rape

Any rape is a serious violation of the individual and a traumatic event to endure and recover from.  There are a number of types of rape that we can learn about to gain more insight into the survivor's feelings.

  • STRANGER RAPE - Stranger rape is what most of us think of when we think rape.  This is when an unknown man jumps out of the bushes, for example, or breaks into the house or abducts a woman in his car and forces sexual acts on her.  In rapes of this sort, police,  medical personnel, family and friends are more likely to believe the survivor and have sympathy for her, especially if she has cuts, bruises or other physical signs to prove that she tried to resist.  Violent stranger rape is the easiest kind of rape to prosecute in court, providing the rapist can be positively identified.  Juries and judges often operate on  many of the same myths that we will explore.
  • ACQUAINTANCE RAPE - Acquaintance rape includes all situations in which the assailant and victim know one another.  They may have known each other for a long time, have just met or have never formally met but have seen each other in the elevator at work and may have even had a casual conversation.  This type of rape is often very difficult to prosecute because of the relationship that may exist.   Juries experience confusion in determining consent.
  • DATE RAPE - Date rape is a type of acquaintance rape.  It is thought to be the most common form of rape among teenagers and young adults, but it's probably more common among adults than we realize.  Date rapes are seldom reported to the police.  They are often situations that are filled with ambiguity for the survivor.  She may have consented to some sexual activity, such as making out, but did not want to have intercourse.  He may have tried a number of coercion tactics; she owed him sex since he paid for dinner; he really loves her and just can't control; himself; he will break up with her is she doesn't consent to sleep with him; she wants it or she wouldn't have worn that miniskirt, etc.  She also might find him attractive and desirable in many ways, even though she didn't want to have sex with him on that occasion.  She also might not want to jeopardize a relationship with him, even if she feels violated by him.   -----  Because of ambiguous feelings, the survivor often feels very guilty with this type of acquaintance rape.  She wonders what she did to bring this on herself.  Was she leading him on or teasing him, as he said she was?  Why didn't she have better judgment and know to avoid him?  Friends or family may say insensitive things that reinforce her guilt.  Often on a date, one or both parties drink or use drugs.  When she does so, she may be at greater risk because it impairs her ability to resist or recognize danger in various situations.  Using drugs or alcohol is never an excuse for rape.  Whether he is drunk, or she is, the rape is not her fault.  She may have used poor judgment as far as drug/alcohol use was concerned, but that does not make her guilty of asking to be raped. ------  Rape is one result of male socialization in a sexist society that degrades and devalues women.  In the media, women are often portrayed as sex objects.  Women may still do the majority of household chores, even when they also work outside the home.  Men may not be taught to respect women.  Some men use ill treatment of women to gratify their own egos.  Rape is an extreme form of ill treatment.  It's also an act that makes a man feel more powerful than the woman he is forcing  into sex.           

  • MARITAL/PARTNER RAPE - In the state of Ohio, a man accused of rape can no longer use the fact that he is the spouse of the survivor as a defense in trial.  Women are usually reluctant to report marital rape.  Many women, as well as men, still adhere to the belief that men own their wives and can do with them as they please.  A woman might not know, or believe, that she has the right to refuse anyone access to her body, whether it's her husband or not.  Even when she does know she has that right, what if she is financially dependent on him?  What if she feels certain that no one in her family will believe her?  Marital rape can be a traumatic and confusing event for the survivor.

  • GANG RAPE - police reports indicate that 10-20% of reported rapes involve more than one assailant.  In most gang rapes, the victim usually knows one or more of the assailants, which is probably how they drew her into the situation.  The purpose of a gang rape is to build solidarity for members of the gang (although they might not think of it in these terms, if asked).  The loyalty and manhood of gang members is tested by the rape.  If someone refuses to participate, he will likely be excluded from the group and ridiculed.---Sometimes gang rape represents a game to the assailants.  For example, a college fraternity may have a contest, in which one member must find and set up a young woman to be raped by the rest of the group.  Other times, a gang rape might involve members of one social group acting out their hatred or fear of another social group.   The victim comes to symbolize the hated or feared group. --- For the survivor, of course, gang rape is extremely frightening.  All the fears you would have if one man attacked you are compounded by the fact that there are multiple assailants.  You are rendered defenseless by the sheer numbers.  Should you want to prosecute or make them pay in some way, you have to worry about each of them taking revenge on you or harming you again, instead of just one person.
  • HATE CRIME RAPE- Interracial rape is uncommon.  More the norm is for the rapist and victim to be of the same racial group.  Because of the racism of the judicial ystem, however, rapists who are members of a racial minority are much more likely to be found guilty in court, especially if they raped a white woman.  Juries are more likely to associate being Black or hispanic with criminal conduct, and being White (especially middle-class or upper-class) with being responsible citizens.  This way of thinking of course is racist and incorrect.  Rapists come from all racial groups, and all should be prosecuted and convicted equally.  A White man should stand the same chance of going to jail as a Black man, if he has committed the same crime. --- Discrimination also occurs with gays and lesbians through hate crime rape.  People who feel that homosexuality is wrong or abnormal may possess extreme homophobic feelings and display angry aggressive reactions to the homosexual community.  They may feel that people from this population need to be punished by society through abuse.  Hate crime rapes also occur during war when women and children are raped or sexually abused to demonstrate national anger and aggression.

  • MALE RAPE- The most common settings for men to rape other men are prisons and the military, where few women are present.  However, it's a myth that men rape men because they have unfulfilled sexual urges due to the lack of access to women.  They rape out of a desire to dominate, control and humiliate the victim, as well as to establish a social order in the setting and let everyone know who's in charge and the price for stepping out of line.  These are essentially the same reasons men rape women. --- Men who have been raped are more likely to have gang raped and to have suffered physical injuries.  We know that only one in ten women report rape, and it's safe to assume that men report at a much lower rate.  It's hard to know how prevalent male rape actually is. --- While it's unusual, there are cases of men being raped by women.  A male can sustain an erection in emotional states other than sexual desire, including anger, extreme fear, temperature changes and anxiety.  In rape by women, men report fearing for their lives and fearing physical harm, and/or emotional and professional harm, just as women do at the hands of male assailants. --- The male rape survivor experiences similar feelings as a female rape survivor - shock, confusion, fear, anger, etc.  He may also exprience greater embarrassment and humiliation if he reports being raped by a woman.  Male sex-role socialization dictates that men are supposed to be strong, independent and in charge.  Being raped brings a man's masculinity into question.  They wonder why the rapist picked them.  Are they effeminate or is there something about them that makes others believe they are gay?  Does  this assault now make him gay?  Getting raped by another man will not make a man a homosexual, and men who rape men are generally not homosexuals.  They do not rape for sexual gratification, but for control and domination or the demonstration of hatred.         
  • SEXUAL HARASSMENT- Sexual harassment is primarily an issue of power and control rather than sex. The harasser introduces a personal element into what should be a sexually neutral environment.  Sexual harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical acts of a sexual nature when submission to, or rejection of, this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work perfomance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.  Sexual harassment undermines self-respect, creates stress and often causes physical and emotional problems.

  • CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE - Childhood sexual abuse is the engagement of a minor child in sexual activities which the child is developmentally unprepared for and cannot give informed consent.  Sexual abuse need not involve sexual intercourse.  Often physical force is not used as the perpetrator uses seduction techniques.  Sexual activities may include genital, anal or other sexual contact with the child, exhibitionism, voyeurism or using the child in the production of pornography.  Childhood sexual abuse may result in genital or anal injuries, sexully transmitted infections or pregnancy.  Survivors of childhood sexual abuse often experience long-term psychological, social and spiritual effects. --- Boys as well as girls may be victimized, and the sexual abuse can take place inside or outside the family unit.  Perpetrators are usually male, but females can also be perpetrators as well as adolescents who account for 20% of reported cases.  Sexual abuse generally is perpetrated by someone known to the child and frequently continues over a prolonged period of time (Adapted from "Break the Silence.  Begin the Cure").
  • FAMILY SEXUAL ABUSE/INCEST- The traditional definition of incest is any sexual relationship between relatives such as minor child and parent, sibling, grandparent, uncle, aunt, cousin, step-parent or step-grandparent.  In the view of law enforcement and mental health professionals, familial sexual abuse of a child is not treated any differently than sexual abuse perpetrated by strangers. --- In order to understand incest, it's important to recognize the emotional bond between a child and perpetrator.  With incest, the person(s) responsible for caring for the child takes advantage of the child's vulnerability to fulfill their own emotional or sexual desires.  Incest violates the bond of trust between child and caretaker, and as the child is dependent upon this relationship, the emotional consequences are more significant.  The child's trust and love are violated as well as their body.  A child can also be molested by a teacher, babysitter, coach or mother's boyfriend and experience sexual trauma and a similar violation of trust and boundaries.