Maria Zelada
[follow id=”riazelada”]
The survivor of the reported sexual assault that took place at a Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity-affiliated house spoke with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office on Sunday.
The Sheriff’s Office was notified of the assault by the San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) on Sunday afternoon, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla said.
“We met with the victim at the San Luis Obispo Police Department on Sunday, and as a result we now have an active investigation into that incident,” Cipolla said.
The incident reportedly took place Friday evening at a Halloween party. Several officers from local law enforcement agencies responded to noise complaints at the party and shut it down. The next day, a Cal Poly housing employee informed the University Police Department of the sexual assault.
In a university-wide email, it was reported the woman may have been given drugs without her knowledge, rendering her unconscious. When she awoke, a man identified as Jake was engaging in sexual activity with her without her consent, the email said.
So far, there are no suspects, Cipolla said.
“It is an active investigation, so we are interviewing all those that were involved, all those that may have witnessed the incident,” he said. “All the normal procedures that we would take in an investigation.”
No other information has been released to the public, as the investigation is still in the preliminary stages, Cipolla said.
The university is also conducting an investigation into the incident, according to a Cal Poly statement.
Define “survivor.” She was already raped; not like she managed to escape.
So in your opinion, someone that got shot in the head and didn’t die isn’t a survivor? He was already shot; not like he managed to escape.
raping is not killing. If you’re shot, you may not be not killed but injured. A survivor of a rape is someone who was about to be raped but managed to get out of the situation. If she’s already raped; she’s a victim, not a survivor.
Unless a criminal kills the person they are sexually assaulting, you may call that person a survivor. You may also call them a victim, unless they express a dislike of the word.
That’s a straw man. I never said that raping was killing. Rape is “any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.” Someone who managed to get out of the situation survived sexual assault, not rape.
But, I’ll indulge your argument, just in the hopes that someone can learn from where you went wrong…
People can die from being raped, just as people can die from being shot. They aren’t exclusive. That being said, rape fundamentally changes a person. I wish I had the link, but a rapist once said in an interview that he basically murdered the person his victim could have been. Granted, there’s a difference between murdering a person, and fundamentally altering their being and future. But it is still appropriate a person who was raped a survivor.
Cal Poly student,
The term ‘survivor’ is often used to identify individuals who have undergone the traumatic experience of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and/or stalking. While ‘victim’ is used in legal terms (police reports, court cases, etc.), ‘survivor’ identifies the individual as somebody who may eventually decompartementalize and encorporate this horrible event into their life history. Using ‘victim’ to identify them can perpetrate feelings of helplessness and ‘otherness’.
I did a quick Google search and found this article: http://www.weendviolence.com/blog/2013/06/04/the-language-we-use-victim-and-survivor/
Hope that clears things up for you.
So basically it’s an inaccurate euphemism.
Semantics aside, why does it even matter? It doesn’t matter if she’s called a “survivor” or “victim” or even “female” in an article. What matters is that we raise awareness about the situation so that this kind of thing stops happening.
I’m curious; why is the name Jake being put out there? What is the source of this? Without anyone being detained and/or charged, it seems like an overreach to even put out a first name. I am not familiar with PIKE, but many people might know if there is a guy with that first name.
I agree. It was foolhardy for that name to be disclosed. I feel bad for any Jake that is even close to that description on this campus…