Prof. explores racial context of rape

In an ongoing effort to educate students about rape on campus during this year's CARE Week, the Women of Color Caucus and the Women's Resource Center hosted a lecture on Monday by professor Sean McGuffey of the sociology department, examining "Gender, Race and Rape. Women of Color and Sexual Violence."

McGuffey, who specializes in race, class, and gender issues, among others, focused on the differences of rape experience among different races, especially black women, arguing that black women have vastly different post-rape experiences.

McGuffey laid the foundation of these experiences with general statistics of rape among all races. Most relevant to the Boston College community is a recent study of college campuses which revealed that one in four women on college campuses, have been the survivors of rape or attempted rape.

To many, the most startling statistic of the survey revealed the physiological impact of rape on women. The results showed that nearly half of women that had been raped did not notify anybody about it. Of the half that did notify somebody, only 15 percent reported it to the police, opting instead for comfort from friends and family.

"This shows that a lot of the work that needs to be done is not being done by the police, but family and friends," said McGuffey.

Another result of the survey highlighted the need to educate males on the definition of rape. According to the study, one in 12 males have committed acts that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape, yet a majority of them did not consider their actions as rape.

"In their own minds, in their own appraisal, they do not perceive what they are doing as rape," said McGuffey. "How can we get the word out to men who do not even see what they are doing as rape?"

Once McGuffey introduced the audience to the issue of sexual violence in society, he delved into its specifics, arguing that race affectss the perceptions of rape.

Rape, according to McGuffey, is perceived as a private and domestic issue, often brushed under the rug by society. "The experiences of violence for women of color are erased because we are so focused on the more public violence, while the more private violence is overlooked," he said.

"Victimization is focused on men and their experiences rather than the routine crime of day-to-day life," said McGuffey.

This perception is extremely damaging to female survivors of rape, who tend to turn to friends and family rather than to the police after being raped. "Black women are ostracized if they tell people they were raped," said McGuffey. "This is damaging because families and communities are the only shelter from racism. This leaves them to cope with the trauma alone."

This perception was personified in the trial between Desiree Washington and Mike Tyson, who was accused and convicted of raping Washington in 1992. Despite the conviction of Tyson and his undeniable guilt, women in the black community were was generally hostile toward Washington.

"Black women were accusatory of Washington, saying that she should have kept quiet. These women believed he raped her," said McGuffey. "However, because Washington broke a social taboo, they felt that she deserved what had happened to her." n

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