Sexual assault in the U.S. is epidemic. It happens, on average, every 98 seconds. Most attackers are not well known. But often, they are known to their victims.
CBS News’ Jericka Duncan spoke to survivors at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.
Duncan started by asking how many of the panelists were sexually assaulted by someone they knew and trusted. All of the suvivors raised their hands.
“What happened?” she asked.
“My first experience of being sexually violated goes back to the age of five,” Donna Black, 53, said.
“I was abused by a man who lived in my neighborhood,” said Kevin Sweeney, 60.
“I was molested by my mother’s boyfriend,” said Imani Capri, 39.
Imani Capri says she was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend.
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“I was abused by a family member,” said Teresa Stafford, 41.
“I was raped by a coworker at my old job,” said Mikayla Colston, 19.
“I was sexually assaulted five and a half years ago by a coworker of my husband,” said Janette Fleissner, 45.
Jackie Pfadt says she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and rape.
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“I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and rape,” said Jackie Pfadt, 37. “It was from an older boy who lived in the area. I share my story to try and help other people walk through this darkness because it was horrible.”
Duncan asked if they believed there are more male victims of sexual abuse and rape than previously reported.
Kevin Sweeney said he believes it is “very hard” for men to come foward.
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Sweeney said he believes so. “I think it’s very hard for men to come forward and say something — it chips away from your masculinity,” Sweeney said.
“I feel like the biggest lesson that I had to learn was that the real victory was me breaking the silence,” Capri said. “There are changes that are starting to happen in society, especially with all the major news events that’s coming out and I think it’s great there’s so much attention. But I think there is still a culture of victim blaming.”
“The way people are responding to the celebrities and people who have a name,” Stafford said. “I really wish society would respond to everyday people in the same way. It’s like we create a hierarchy for survivors in our society that if you look a certain way come from a certain background you get that attention.”
Donna Black said her first experience with sexual abuse goes back to when she was five years old.
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“None of us are like TV personalities, so that’s a beautiful thing — let people know you don’t have to be rich, you know, you don’t have to be in the spotlight. Violation is violation and rape is rape,” Black said.
“Sexual assault and abuse and rape is really about the power not the sex,” Capri said. “To see that being exposed on such a huge level and such a consistent level brings me joy because it feels like OK, now we can get real. Now we can really have conversations, now we can stop having all these whispers and making it be about the person who’s rate is damaged goods. Now how about the person who did the raping has a problem.”
Unfortunately finding these people wasn’t difficult. We partnered with The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. Last year, more than 36,000 people relied on their services.
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