The number of rapes reported to the Norman Police Department decreased by 26 percent from 2004 to 2005, said Master Police Officer Jennifer Newell, community relations officer for Norman police.

"We are very lucky because Norman is a very safe town, no doubt about it," Newell said.

Rapes decreased from 46 reported in 2004 to 34 in 2005, Newell said. Norman's number decreased far more than the country as a whole, which saw a 4.7 percent decrease, and the Midwest region, which saw a 3.9 percent drop, according to the FBI's uniform crime reports preliminary semiannual report. Newell said a single reason for the decrease will probably not be found.

Although documenting sexual assault accurately can be difficult due to the large number of rapes that go unreported, this could be part of a larger trend of falling sexual assault instances throughout the country.

Ways to Stay Safe

o Use the buddy system to keep track of friends at parties

o Pour your own drink and hold it all night to prevent being drugged

o Avoid binge drinking

o When walking in the dark, bring a friend, dangerous dog or pepper spray

o Be aware of your surroundings

Source: Jennifer Newell, Norman Police Department community relations officer

Since 1994, rape and sexual assault have fallen by more than 64 percent, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Web site.

Courtney Gilman, social work graduate student and volunteer at the Women's Outreach Center, said it would be good for OU to have an actual center on campus for sexual assault crises.

"The thing is, is that no one wants to say, like to a freshman on a tour of OU, 'Hey, this is our sexual assault crisis center,' because that's saying it happens," Gilman said.

OU does have a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) to help victims after sexual assaults and rapes. Volunteers are on call at all times to help victims at hospitals and make sure they understand their rights.

Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in America, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey. The survey said more than half of rapes are left unreported.

"A lot of times for one reason or another students aren't willing to report an incident," Gilman said.

Young women are least likely to report victimization, according to the RAINN Web site.

It is very important to report a sexual assault so perpetrators do not go free, Newell said.

"If they've done it to you, they may have done it to someone else and may do it again in the future," Newell said.

Victims sometimes don't report their assaults because they don't want others to find out or feel partially responsible for the crime, Gilman said.

"A victim of a rape is never at fault," Newell said. "Never, ever, ever."

The key ingredient in sexual assault and rape prevention is awareness, Newell said.

"There is no magic bullet to stop these rapes," she said, but the risk can be diminished by being more aware of one's surroundings.

The Women's Outreach Center works on campus to raise awareness of sexual assault and rape. It also refers victims to other resources, such as counseling at Goddard Health Center.

Rape is defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as forced sexual intercourse, including both psychological coercion and physical force. Sexual assault includes a wide range of victimizations, distinct from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include completed or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between the victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and can include verbal threats, according to the Department of Justice Web site.

The situation is further complicated when the perpetrator is someone the victim knows.

"We are very fortunate in Norman because we don't have a lot of what we'd call stranger rapes," Newell said.

Almost two-thirds of all rapes were committed by someone known by the victim, according to the 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey. The survey says 47 percent of perpetrators were friends or acquaintances of victims, 17 percent were intimately known and 3 percent were relatives.

Eighty percent of rape victims are under age 30, according to the Web site.

One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime, according to the 1998 Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey by the National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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