page 6

 

The Other Press

 

 

 

January 21st to February 4th, 1982

  

 

by Denise Kask

“| didn’t think about the
nolding time until | got
close to him. His pants
were open and his ‘‘thing’’
was standing out of his
oritches by itself.

“No, sir, Mr. Freeman.’’
| started to back away. |
didn’t want to touch that
mush-hard thing again, and
| didn’t need him to hold
me anymore. He grabbed
my arm and pulled me
oetween his legs. His face
was still and looked kind,
out he didn’t smile or blink
nis eyes. Nothing. He did
nothing, except reach his
left hand around to turn on
the radio without even look-
ing at it. Over the noise of
the music and static he
said, ‘‘Now, this ain’t
gonna hurt you much. You
liked it before, didn’t you?”’

The above exerpt appears
in the memoirs of Maya
Angelou, entitled | Know
Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Mr. Freeman was her step-
father, and, at the time,
Maya was eight years old.
It has been said to be per-
haps one of the most
moving and painful
accounts of childhood rape
ever put to paper.
Unfortunately, written
memoirs are often the only
accounts of the hundreds of
thousands of rapes that
occur every year. Because
of shame, fear of
retaliation, and guilt
feelings, womyn do not
report rape, in the majority
of occurrences.

were you aware that;

-in Canada, 1 womyn is
raped every 17 minutes,
but only 1 of every 10
womyn raped reports that
rape. Of the rapes reported

-If convicted, rape can carry
a 14 year to life sentence,
but, in most cases, the

- sentences range from 6 to

18 months because charges
are dropped or reduced to
assault. Parole is generally
granted after one-third of
time is served.

-60 - 75 percent of womyn
are raped by someone
known to them

-1 of every 4 womyn is
raped before the age of 18,
usually by a family

member

-No womyn is immune for
no womyn is immune from

rape. Cases have been
reported where womyn

between the ages of 6
months and 93 years were
raped.

-10 girls are molested for
every 1 boy

Rape is not a crime of
passion, but of violence and
power. It is the only crime
in which the victim’s credi-

id You Kn

bility is judged by her past
and present sexual
activities, Rape victims are
not only the ‘‘Lovely Young
Blondes’’ of newspaper
headlines, they are
children, the aged, the
homely -- all womyn.

 

WwW:

Rape is something we all
live in fear of. We have lost
our freedom because rape
is down-played by society,
glorified in popular culture,
shrouded in myths, excused
by the ‘‘boys will be boys’’
logic of ‘‘She asked for it!’

 

 

 

by Denise Kask

For the fall of ‘82, along witha
new campus location, Douglas
College will have anew Womyn’‘s
Centre. Marian Exmann, whose
office is presently located in the
Counselling Centre, (room 101), is
the Womyn’‘s Centre Coordinator.
The following Role and Function
Statement outlines the areas of
responsibility for the Coordinator:

ROLE AND FUNCTION
STATEMENT:

-The Womyn’‘s Centre is
available to identify and provide
information about the college’s
programs and services to womyn
students.

-to assist with the planning and
analyzing of programs responsive
to the female population.

-to assist womyn students to
identify and evaluate their
educational opportunities.

-to coordinate a variety of
on-campus programs and activities
and to participate in orientation.

-to maintain and research
material for the womyn’s centre.

-to coordinate the production of
materials for use in the womyn‘s
centre and participate in the
development of information

brochures, leaflets, etc., for use by
womyn students.

 

1.8 percent. are convicted.

Womyn’s Centre For DC

-to identify actual and potential
barriers to womyn’‘s access to
college programs and services.

Some of the projects the Womyn‘s
Centre Coordinator is involved in
are:

THE LAKESIDE PROJECT:

The college is providing Adult
Basic Education (ABE), instruction
at Lakeside, the womyn’s section
of Oakalla. It is providing
workshops (coordinated by
instructors at Oakalla), centering
on education and apprenticeship
training. The womyn’s centre is
providing resource material, career
information, and is planning
career profile and workshop series.
Marian Exmann acts as a liaison
to this project.

DAYCARE AT DOUGLAS
COLLEGE:

This semester, funded by the
Student Society, the womyn’s
centre provided daycare during
registration. Discussions are now
taking place with members of the
Community Programs division and
Early Childhood Education
regarding possible daycare
facilities in the new campus.
Marian hopes to make daycare
something that is available at
every registration. Rooms, toys,
games, etc., were provided by the
centre.

Marian would like to work with
the student society, the faculty,
staff and the administration to
raise the awareness of the needs
of womyn students. For example;
research material, social activities,
career(non-traditional)

 

. Opportunities, and many others.
She would like people, staff,
faculty, students, and

_ administration, to feel free to

drop-in or phone with suggestions |
and ideas.

The Douglas College Womyn’‘s
Centre:ph. 521-4851, loc.260.

 

It’s Not Just For
Cults Anymore

A Cincinnati grand jury has
indicted well-known
deprogrammer Ted Patrick and
three others on kidnapping and
sexual assault charges, in
connection with an attempt to
change the lifestyle of a womyn
whose mother suspected she was a
lesbian.

The Cincinnati Enquirer
reported the mother paid Patrick
$8,000 to lead a deprogramming
team, which allegedly raped the
womyn repeatedly in an attempt to
break her of her suspected lesbian
habit.

An Enquirer reporter, Sue
MacDonald, says the young
womyn “‘is not even a lesbian.’’

Not
Newswomyn

While womyn are increasing their
numbers on commercial

 

{ FromCUP For Womyn :

newspaper staffs in the United
States, they aren’t making
headway in editorial positions.
The American Society of
Newspaper Editors says there are
no womyn executive editors on a
daily newspaper with more than
50,000 circulation, and only two
womyn hold top posts with papers
with 25,000 or more circulation.

There are some female
associate editors, but their number
is dropping: from 13 in 1980 to
only 10 in 1981.

RAPE RELIEF

4-45 Kingsway

Vancouver, B:C:
CRISIS 732-1613

Business 872-8212

A group of concerned womyn
providing support and information
to victims of rape and sexual
assault.

Rape Relief is also available in
Kamloops, Nanaimo, Terrace, and
Victoria.