For more information, contact Laurie Harrison at KCSDV at 785-232-9784.
Safe Homes, Safe Streets Event online www.kcsdv.org/shss.html
Part of the 2nd Annual Safe Homes, Safe Streets Event at Kansas Capitol in Topeka
Topeka, Kan. - Only one in five rapes are reported to law enforcement, and this alarming statistic is the focus of a new exhibit being introduced this Thursday at 11:00 a.m. at the Kansas Capitol.
"The Ribbon Tree...Remembering Rape" exhibit demonstrates the low reporting rate of rape. Although there are 109 rapes committed each week in Kansas, only 22 of those rapes are reported to law enforcement.1
The exhibit will officially be unveiled during a mid-morning press conference on the 2nd floor rotunda.
The press conference and many other activities are part of the 2nd Annual Safe Homes, Safe Streets Awareness Day and Reception, organized by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
One hundred nine teal ribbons will adorn the tree, which represents the actual number of rapes committed. Also hanging on the tree will be 22 tags with stories of the rapes, which represents the number of reported rapes.
The exhibit can also be viewed at the 6:00 p.m. reception at the Ramada Inn, 420 SE 6th Avenue, Topeka.
KCSDV is a statewide network of 30 domestic violence and/or sexual assault advocacy programs. KCSDV's member programs provide provide support and safety to the victims of domestic and sexual violence and stalking through direct services.
1. The 20% reporting rate of rape is based on a national rate that states that between 70% and 84% of all rapes are not reported to law enforcement as explained in National Victim Center report, "Rape in America: A Report to the Nation," 1992. In 2003 in Kansas, there were 1,133 rapes reported by law enforcement agencies through the Kansas Incident Based Reporting System. That data is then provided to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for its yearly report, "A Report on Domestic Violence and Rape Statistic in Kansas," 2003. Since an estimated 20% of rapes are reported, that would mean that the number of rapes reported - 1,133 - was only one-fifth of the total number of rapes committed. Therefore, there were 5,665 rapes committed during 2003, which amounts to approximately 109 rapes committed per week. If 109 rapes were committed per week and the reporting rate is 20%, then only 22 of those rapes were reported.
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