State Of Emergency Declared For Assaults

In response to the high number of sexual assault charges in the Commonwealth, a state coalition declared a state of emergency and sent a plea to acting Gov. Jane Swift Friday requesting the formation of a commission on sexual assault.

Local elected officials and survivors of rape gathered with Jane Doe, Inc. Executive Director Judith Beals at the group’s headquarters to call for increased government attention to sexual assaults.

“Never before have I seen such a confluence of issues of sexual assault,” said Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Newton).

Koutoujian referred to the current sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church and the late-night attacks of women leaving the Ashmont MBTA station as examples of recent high-profile cases of sexual assault.

“These reports are not isolated; they are the tip of the iceberg,” Beals said.

According to a 1999 study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 19 percent of Massachusetts adults between the ages of 18-59 reported having been sexually assaulted at one time in their lives.

As a part of the state of emergency, Beals and Jane Doe, Inc. are calling for several changes, the first of which is a statewide sexual assault prevention and intervention effort.

While many different programs exist for victims of sexual assault, no formal coordinated effort exists between government-sponsored agencies and the private sector.

Jane Doe, Inc. is also calling for the inclusion of sexual assault advocates and rape survivors on the Boston Archdiocese Interdisciplinary Commission.

Richard Hoffman, a local author and survivor of childhood rape, said the absence of the voices of survivors must change.

“Who are we if our first goal is not to protect and defend our children?” Hoffman asked.

Beals also called for an increase in funding for prevention education, saying current measures are insufficient.

“I lived in a padded bubble like so many high school students did,” said rape survivor and Stone Hill College junior Julie Guptill about her sexual assault awareness.

Guptill said her education on rape had consisted only of a 20-minute presentation at college orientation until she attended a party months later at which she was violently raped twice.

Citing the recent coverage of New Bedford Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy, who allegedly told a rape victim to “get over it,” Beals said a need exists for mandated training for judges and court employees.

“It is never okay for a judge to tell a rape victim to get over it,” Beals said.

Jane Doe, Inc. also supports the enhancement of sentencing guidelines for sexual assault crimes, which would decrease the leeway judges currently have in sentencing. Beals used Murphy once again as a reference, saying he has also made recent news for his controversial sentencing of rapists whom he awarded parole rather than prison sentences.

In response to the accusations of abuse cover-ups within the Catholic Church, Jane Doe, Inc. is pushing to have clergy included in mandatory reporting requirements, which would legally require priests to report any knowledge of abuse.

Beals thanked the legislators in attendance and urged others to follow their lead. She said in the current state of emergency, “Our politicians … have a unique opportunity to step up to the plate.”