2nd Annual Safe Homes, Safe Streets:
Putting the Spotlight on Sexual Violence
Thursday, February 10, 2005

Both exhibits will be on display 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 10 at the Statehouse 2nd Floor Rotunda, and from 6:00-8:00 p.m. outside of the Grand Ballroom at the Ramada Inn, 420 SE 6th Avenue, Topeka.

The Ribbon Tree...Remembering Rape
A Display of Sexual Violence

"The Ribbon Tree...Remembering Rape" is a part of Safe Homes, Safe Streets event because the this year's theme is "Putting the Spotlight on Sexual Violence." The Ribbon Tree shows the actual number of rapes committed in Kansas in one week's time. There are 109 rapes committed in Kansas every week,1 but only 22 of those rapes are reported - that means one in five are reported.2 Therefore, the tree has 109 teal ribbons hanging on its branches representing the number of rapes committed and 22 tags with stories representing reported rapes. The color teal is the color symbolizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which happens in April.

The Silent Witness Exhibit
A Display of Domestic Violence

The Silent Witness Exhibit consists of a group of red life-size silhouettes, each representing a Kansas domestic violence victim. Each tells the story of a woman whose life ended violently at the hands of her husband, ex-husband or intimate partner. The Kansas Silent Witness Exhibit was developed by the Greater Kansas City Section of the National Council of Jewish Women in coalition with Safehome, Johnson County's domestic violence shelter, and KCSDV. The goal of the project is to create public awareness. The exhibit is being displayed throughout the state of Kansas in shopping malls, churches, public buildings and other locations where the public can view it. The project hopes to honor the women who were murdered in domestic violence crimes; to raise awareness about the seriousness of domestic violence; to help people connect with local resources for victims of abuse; and to encourage legislative action to punish abusers.

  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.
  2. 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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