The women who work with the victims of sexual assault in the Virgin Islands agree with a proposal to toughen penalties for child rapists. But they say much more needs to be done to stem the inordinately high number of rapes occurring in the territory.
In the first five months of 2000 there have been two dozen reported rapes. Minor girls were the victims in 18 of those assaults, according to the V.I. Police Department. And those are just the cases that have been reported.
The statistics for rape in the territory are "disproportionately high," said Iris Kern of the Safety Zone on St. John. But behind the faceless numbers are scores of children who are dealing with realities that are, to some extent, vastly different from what their parents had to contend with, Kern said. "Our children are really at risk. That didn’t used to be the case."
For a myriad of reasons male sexual predators are assaulting women and girls in the territory at a frightening rate. Kern puts forth a number of possible reasons as to why some men are out of control, including power and control issues left over from slavery and the effects of a dismal economy on some men’s feeling of mastery of their fate.
"Why here in the territory do some men have the issues they have with power and control," Kern asked. "And how does it play out sexually.
"My concern is no one is looking at the causes and changing the behavior. We’re not able to address the economic issues on a day-to-day basis much less the implications," she said.
Proposed legislation sponsored by Sen. Lorraine Berry does seek to change the penalties for sexual assault, especially those against children. The Child Protection Bill, would set up two categories of aggravated rape in the first and second degree. It would provide tougher penalties for individuals who rape a child 11 or younger.
The bill also would increase the minimum prison sentence from 20 years to 25 for conviction of a second offense of aggravated rape. In addition, it would set a mandatory minimum sentence for attempted aggravated rape in the first and second degree.
The bill would also eliminate the existing three-year statute of limitations for aggravated rape.
"Berry’s law is absolutely necessary," Kern said, "but not sufficient."
While Berry’s bill seeks to address the problem after the fact, Kern said much more needs to be done before hand, including working with male and female school children.
Meanwhile, Mary Mingus, co-director of the Women’s Coalition on St. Croix, said lifting the statute of limitations is an important element of the proposal because women and young girls often find it difficult to report a rape immediately after an attack. But she added that such laws don’t do much good if sexual predators aren’t prosecuted and then treated.
"The (V.I.) Department of Justice doesn’t take these crimes against women and children as seriously as it should," Mingus said.
And even if there was more aggressive prosecution, she said there is essentially no ongoing sexual offender treatment in the territory.
"Rapists are very difficult to rehabilitate," she said. "They need constant work, almost like an addict."
Kern echoed Mingus’ concerns about the failure in the territory to treat sexual offenders "at any serious level." And although she said she wasn’t aware of any concerted effort to educate children about abuse, Mingus said the Women’s Coalition is active in St. Croix schools to do just that.
"We’re constantly in the schools," Mingus said, but added that the cyclical nature of abuse – both sexual and otherwise – makes it difficult to overcome a family’s dysfunction. "Even if we started in kindergarten, the parents have to back up the message. It’s deep and it’s involved."
In the meantime, Berry’s bill is working its way through committee and Kern and Mingus continue to work daily with victims. Mingus, though, said she would like to see the courts be more strict with first-time sexual offenders. And once perpetrators are in the system, they need in- and out-of-prison treatment.
The Women’s Coalition can be reached at 773-9272. The Safety Zone is at 693-7233.
