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Review of “When Rape is Reported and Nothing Happens”

For my first blog post, the article I chose to analyze is from the Minnesota newspaper The Star Tribune titled “When Rape is Reported and Nothing Happens.”  Initially, I was hooked to the story because of the first victim’s retelling of her assault as it occurred two blocks from where I lived last year. It is especially frightening to know something so horrible happened steps away from where I felt safe.  

The story sticks with me because the authors discuss how if homicide cases were treated in the same way that sexual assault cases are, essentially thousands are never solved or simply not assigned an investigator, people would be appalled.  Something that I thought about after reading this story is, what are police doing instead of investigating these sexual assault cases? What possibly could be more important than putting a predator away, especially when there is evidence in some cases?  

This story made me fearful to be a woman who can be alone at night.  It also scares me that several of the victims that recounted their experiences in the story knew their attackers.  It scares me that someone you trust could do this to you.  

There are very few stories that I react to in the same way that I reacted to this one.  After reading this story, I cannot stop thinking about it. Before reading this story, I knew that there were a lot of unsolved sexual assault cases, but I did not know the number was as high as 1,000 and that some cases are not even assigned an officer to investigate the case.  

Something that challenged me as well as bothered me was that many victims when they gave their statements felt as though they were suspects themselves in their own sexual assault case.  The police even asked some of them if they were telling the truth. It is never the victim’s fault if they were sexually assaulted. It is horrible and humiliating that a police officer would question a victim who is recounting her sexual assault.   

What makes this story last is that there are thousands of sexual assault cases that have not been solved.  So many women will never get justice. 

Something that I would have done differently would be to include something about a successful rape case that put away an assaulter.  What the timeline of the case was like, such as how long it took to be solved, how the victim is coping and maybe a link or phone number of where to report a sexual assault if you are a victim. 

 In summary, this was a very well written story.  It made me as a reader angry that so many women feel as they are suspects in their own sexual assault cases, that they are being asked if they are lying or not.  It made me angry that the police just stopped investigating some cases and some women had to pursue justice on their own. I truly cannot stop thinking about this story.  I wish that something drastic could be done so there are more victories for the victims in sexual assault cases than there are losses.

Who Inspires Me:

This is incredibly cheesy but who inspires me as a communicator is by dad Bill.  Although he does not work in communications, he works in finance actually, he is a great listener.  Listening is a core component of communications, maybe even more important than the talking part. I worked for my dad this past summer and I could see how great of a leader he is in his position at work.  Of course he is great at his job but I would argue that a majority of the reason he is so great at his job is that he is an incredible communicator. He listens, is clear, direct and understanding. He is always open to suggestions as well as explaining something multiple times.  My dad has always explained to me that it is never bad to ask questions if it means the work will be done correctly the first time. Another factor that my dad holds as a professional communicator is that he is not too lenient or too bossy. I think this is the perfect mix and something I strive to achieve in my professional career.  Something my dad preaches to my sister and I is that being a good professional communicator is the number one quality he looks for when hiring employees, more so than past work experience and impressive academic credentials. Being a good communicator is crucial to being a successful and quality employee. I want to emulate every quality that my dad has as a communicator professionally.  I strive to be less shy and more confident in my communication skills as I believe this will make me a better employee in the future. I want to become more confident in asking follow up questions for clarification so I can excel and be proud of my work.  

Another aspect of the way that my dad communicates that is inspiring to me is how he communicates as a father and husband.  I think a major part of the reason that my parents marriage is so successful is because both my dad and mom communicate with each other.  My mom and dad listen to one another and are always respectful of one another. I also am inspired by the way that my dad communicates with my sister and I.  He is not condescending and patronizing. He encourages my sister and I to have good relationships professionally and personally. Additionally, growing up my dad always encouraged my sister and I to be advocates for ourselves meaning asking teachers questions ourselves, emailing and talking on the phone.  Although being able to communicate well in that aspect is a very basic life skill, I know people my age who avoid talking on the phone and advocating for themselves so I am incredibly grateful that my dad taught me that valuable life lesson.