March, 2006

Break the Silence of Sexual Violence

Linda Wong

(The author is a senior counsellor of RainLily.)

March 8 is International Women's Day, a day that reminds us that not all women enjoy basic human rights. Women in Hong Kong are still not free from sexual violence, and survivors of sexual violence suffer from social stigmatisation. In 2001, a sexual violence crisis centre—RainLily—was set up by the Association Concerning Sexual Violence against Women (ACSVAW). RainLily works closely with the emergency units in many hospitals, and it runs the only 24-hour and timely one-stop sexual violence crisis centre in Hong Kong. Instead of having to repeat her traumatic experience many times to people in different departments—the police, hospital, forensics, social welfare, etc.—a rape victim can call RainLily's hotline to talk to an experienced counsellor, who will then accompany her every step of the way through the medical and judicial systems.

The potential closure of RainLily at the end of 2005, however, and the neglectful attitude of the Social Welfare Dept. has caused extensive public concern. In November 2005, rape victims appeared in the media to emphasise the need for the one-stop service. Community groups took collective action to put pressure on the government to subsidise the service for victims. Christian organisations launched campaigns as well. During a hearing of the Panel on Welfare Services on Nov. 10, 2005, legislators urged the government to provide long-term financial assistance to RainLily. The government though still refused to financially support this unique and specialised service in Hong Kong. The government insists that existing "family" services meet the needs of victims of sexual violence through the mainstream Integrated Family Service Centres, Family and Child Protective Services Units and Medical Social Service Units. However, all these mainstream services are so fragmented and incomprehensive that they are unable to provide crisis intervention and post-traumatic counselling services to victims of sexual violence. In fact, these mainstream services existed prior to the creation of RainLily. If such mainstream services were effective, there would have been no reason for the Legislative Council (Legco) and the public to call for the establishment of this one-stop service five years ago. Only HK$2 million (US$256,410) is required to support RainLily for one year, but the government instead prefers to dilute the service. It is an example of the government marginalising services for women. The new administration has put much attention on economic development, but little attention has been paid to services for women in society.

The government is oblivious to the needs of victims, reflecting their insensitivity to women's issues. In the public debate, the government points out that the idea of designating one centre (RainLily) to handle sexual violence cases is not necessarily the most effective mode of service delivery so it suggests that crisis intervention services should be conducted in the police station or hospital in the vicinity. The idea of locating the one-stop service in the police station is problematic. It ignores the fact that there are likely more victims of sexual violence who require help but who do not wish to involve the police. As countless victimisation studies indicate, many rape victims do not report to the police due to social prejudice—women dress provocatively, drink a lot and go out at night, etc. More women are likely to report to police in the classic rape situation where the crime is perpetrated suddenly and violently by a stranger. If women are raped by friends or they do not have an injury during the rape, it is difficult to make a complaint to the police because they may simply classify the case as "normal heterosexual activity." The government's proposal to set up the service in the police station will further discourage victims of sexual assault who do not wish to make a police report to seek the help they need. Although the inconvenience of having only one sexual violence crisis centre in the city may pose a problem, women, I believe, would rather deal with this inconvenience if they know that the service will be more gender-sensitive and considerate than a local mainstream service that is fragmented and of poorer quality.

Overall, the campaign has been able to arouse public awareness about sexual violence because of the voice of women. Many survivors of rape have had the courage to break their silence to speak for themselves. Our culture emphasises that the reputation of women is of primary importance. Hence, disclosing rape brings shame to the woman and her family. It is so frustrating that if women disclose the rape to their family or friends the focus is on the woman in a sexual relationship rather than on the perpetrator or the degrading process of rape, creating a tendency to see the woman as doing something wrong. The victims have learned though that they should not bear the responsibility of rape and should not be the one to blame for the rape. The campaign also asserts that women have the right to seek justice and supportive services and, most importantly, the government has to listen to the victims' voice.

Another impact of the campaign is it arouses the awareness of the churches regarding the issue of sexual violence. It is difficult for women to disclose the rape to their pastors because churches are usually regarded as a place of purity. Women are afraid that the disclosure to church members may bring a judgmental reaction rather than healing. The Bible though reveals that Jesus emphasises healing rather than judgment. For example, in Chapter 4 of the Book of John, Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman who has had many traumatic experiences and was abandoned and has faced discrimination by society. She was so shameful that she isolated herself from the outside world. However, Jesus came to her and invites her to be his friend. The Samaritan woman experiences a strong feeling of understanding and acceptance through telling her stories to Jesus. Jesus creates a supportive environment which helps her to remove her inferiority, shamefulness and feelings of guilt for being a "divorced women." With the healing of Jesus, the Samaritan woman learns to accept and face her past traumatic experiences and to understand that her dignity had never been, and would never be, taken from her. Thus, she lives with a new sense of purpose, and she goes to town, emerging from her isolation and courageously tells all the people about her own story and how Jesus healed her. This is a beautiful picture that I hope to see in my victims as well.

Sexual violence involves more than the damage to women's bodily organs; it is a violation of the integrity and relational autonomy of women. To heal women from their traumatic experience not only requires a sensitive counsellor, for it is also important to create a supportive and non-judgmental social environment. Hence, legal and medical reforms enabling the community to better represent the voice of victims of sexual violence, as well as public recognition of the psychological damage caused by the violent incident to women, are deemed necessary.