To the editor:
In response to the April 6th article “Vast majority of LSUPD rape reports since 2010 fall on gamedays, gameday weekends,” I would like to contribute to the conversation. I served as a sexual assault survivor advocate for over three years under Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR), as both a volunteer and an employee. I have had the opportunity to work with members of LSUPD while working with survivors who have decided to take the criminal justice route as a potential remedy. Although there are some amazing officers and investigators at LSUPD, there is still a lingering, albeit overwhelming, institutional attitude toward the issue of sexual assault on college campuses, particularly within its response.
Alcohol does not cause sexual assault. More often than not, it is used as a tool by the perpetrator, as offenders often know that once alcohol is involved, survivors are less likely to be believed by police and the larger community. A strong sense of entitlement, a lack of respect for personal boundaries, and prevalent pillars of hypermasculinity are all contributing factors. They are found on all college campuses.
The low numbers of reports can be attributed to environments that condone, foster, or overlook the contributing factors rather than environments that support and assist survivors reporting. It can be argued that this is occurring on nearly every college campus in the U.S., even as Title IX investigations are beginning to unveil lackluster and unlawful policies. I and many others know that LSU and its students are making strides toward creating a safer environment for students and enabling social change in the community, but to have an officer of the law say such things is a terrifying prospect.
Carroline Rodgers, who was quoted in the follow-up article [by WBRZ] featuring the student group who hosted a responsive brainstorming session at Highland’s Coffee, stated that Lieutenant Scott’s comments concerning the nationally proven statistic was a matter of “opinion.” I would like to contradict this, as he is indeed an officer of the law and influences criminal investigations and, thus, criminal justice. He is, however, not a trier of fact. That role resides with trial courts, not police officers. Their role, instead, is an investigative one. For him to hypothesize, upon the investigative process and within his role as an officer, the “honesty” behind a survivor’s statement is beyond his responsibility as a police officer.
The statistic itself has been proven over the course of several years, several studies, and within several governmental agencies and organizations. This statistic cannot be overturned by one officer of the law. However, when he applies skepticism to his own investigations surrounding sexual assault, he contributes to the institutional response that so many survivors fear: one of disbelief and cynicism.
My years’ work with survivors and as a first responder has proven time and again that one of the primary reasons survivors’ do not report, specifically after being assaulted on a college campus, is due to the skepticism they fear they will face, not because an assault did not happen.
I am proud of The Daily Reveille for running this article. I am ashamed, however, of the institutional response that survivors are still receiving when they do the courageous act of reporting.
Sincerely,
Catherine Cooper, a concerned citizen and advocate