Our nation's capital does not publish statistics on sexual assaults committed inside the District.
I came across this fact while trying to provide some context for the women around the country who are participating in this year's V-Day campaign to end violence against women. Hundreds of women are practicing their moans and mustering the dignity required to perform about hair and clitorises and genocide, and there are places in the Vagina Monologues script to insert local and current statistics about rape and sexual assault. It was my hope to try and find estimates of total sexual assault survivors in the District of Columbia and to note the number of sexual assaults counted by DC police.
The national agency that provides crime statistics, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics uses a widely accepted definition of sexual assault that includes forced sex and other kinds of unwanted sexual contact, which they then parse down into legal subcategories. DC's Metro Police Department, however, uses the FBI's Universal Crime Reporting guidelines, which only include "forcible rape," or "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will."
This "forcible rape" definition is the one some members of Congress want to use in defining how federal tax dollars can be spent on abortions. My first question on hearing this proposal was, "What the hell is rape if it's not forcible?" The answer to that question is a definition that excludes date rape, statutory rape, alcohol-related rape, sexual assault against men, and incest in which the woman was not beaten. Leaving aside the abortion and federal funding debates for a moment (though if you have not seen it, you should watch the Daily Show's fantastic commentary on the proposal), how is this 1930s definition of rape (the one used verbatim in To Kill a Mockingbird) useful in preventing sexual violence?
On an empowering note, there are ways you can help stop sexual assault and violence against women. Attend your local production of the Vagina Monologues. If you're in our nation's beautiful (non-sex-crime-reporting) capital, come out to see V-Day DC's production, in which I will be a cast member. Volunteer at your local rape crisis center or an international agency that works on women's issues. And talk to your children/nieces/nephews/students/friends about consent, so that sexual assault survivors will be fewer and more likely to report the crimes against them.
(And for an interesting article about talking to kids that I couldn't tie into this post, check out Jim Wallis's blog.)
