7177"7777777777777 ONEtiTRtSONE ED 179 833 AUTHOR' DaVidip. Li a 0.: Brody, Elaine M. TITLE Rape and 01 er Women: A Guide tO Prevention apd Protection./ INftIT TION .Philadelphia Geriatric Center, Pa. qo sPONS GEM National in8t. of Mentallealth (DBEw)., pcckville, Mcli. ' rr" FEPO T tiO DHEW-ADM-78-734 PUB/DATE 79 ' CDN1RACT NIMH-Sm-76-0073 .. 'NOp . 1.7,5p. , i , AV/AILABLE FROM Superintendent/-of,Documents, A.S. .Acvernment Printing . -Office, Washington,,D.C. 20402/(Stock No. , 017-024-0084,944) /-EDIU PRICE MF01/PC07 Pius Postage. DESCRIPTORS , Behavior PrOblems: -Crime:,*Females; *Gerontofogy: *Older. AOlts..1 *Prevention: *Rape: Sepicr Citizens:. violence' ABSTRACT aue to rising violent crime rates, Crime,and fear of' victimization have jointIll health, income and holsing as Odor concepts oi\older Americans. ThIA guide proposts solUtionVwhich reflect tqlt)best available infOrmation.' The three main sections focus, on rape.vf.women oVer 50, its prevention, and education programs and , training aids.'The guAdelines are designed primarily for-use by planners,admi4strators atd housing site staff: organizations that providt services for oldet people: law enforCement agencies:And other agencies involved with assuring the Safety of the eldefly. The', objectives are to:(1) sensitize the reader to the special irulnerability of older women and to the issde of rape: (2 increase knowledge, regarding prevention, pvitam planning and thavoidance and protection activities for clde wlmem and (3) .pro de tire reader with education and training sugges,tions, materialS ant resourdeS '- necessarY.t0 carry programs.beyond tht planning pha (Author/BMW) t***************(******************** **********************4,441)4*#4! , * , *,' 'Peirciductions euppitied bi'Ebrt$tie the beet that can be Alai*, * 8 rob tbd oql documetit4;' to; 41***********,* 41,1k*******soi sloosoot*****t*******Iit*******itt*****,o' .1 Srl, p« 14' lo der W6 A GuideViktv tion and Rutection by Linda J. Davis, Ph.D., ana- .Elaine M. Brody, M.S.W. Ui. DEPARTMENT OF HeALTN, EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 1141 clocunArNT HAS BEEN WE1'140, Duct() EXACIve AS ittCEIvEO mr4onn TIlE PeRsory 0$40$40NIZA1 ION ONICA. ATING I,TPOINTS.OP VItW OR OPINIONS, ST AT e0 00 NO1 NECtSSMTILY REONE- SEN'T orrIont. NAtIONAl. INST.ITuTE Or EDUCATION PO!1.TIQN 014 POLICY f . U.S. DEPARTMENf OF HEALTH, EDUCATION,AND WELFARE Public Health 0ervice .Arcohol, Orsig Abuse, and Marital Health Adminktration Natiortal Institute of Mental Health 6600 Flihers Lane NOON, am Maryland 20867 I .4 i .. ,, 4 . k The.,.whtk upon telthis publition 18 bii!old was performed by thePhila. MOW Coda c Cen er pursuit to CorltrUtt No. NIMH-SM76.0073with tkie,hitIonalenter tr the 11' a entiont;nd' Vodtrol of Rape of the National , in iitute ofental Hea th, The ontent of this bk is in the public domain and maybereproduced or co ad without requestingOermissiop from the National Institute of Mental alth or the authors, / DREW Publication .(ADM) 7§.784 Printed 1979 (ho SuptIntoodont of DootifooOts,li.8..Gov6otooOt PrintingOitleo vinshlAgtooY.0, 2040 Kook Nokoboi'0045WOO8i0-4 1 .i0REWORD , r It is a sad commentary thatany woman in this country could be a victim of sexual assault. It isa tragedy that a 76-year-old WomAn could be subjected to sexual violence. Yet, ananYolder women who live in urban- complexes and experience diminishedphysical capacities, are victimized by crime. Their vulnetabiliy often heightens their anxiety, forcing them to withdraw from(e heirfriends and families' and from surrounding neighborhooas, where theyshould be secure. Though much has been written on the problemof sexual assault,/,', there has been little.systematic study ofrape of the elderly, hen ,.', few positive steps towardprevention of sexual assault. The A tional Center for the Prevention andcontrol of Rape has'devel4ed ; this document for those whoare concerned with tlie quality of. .life among the elderly. The authors, LindaDavis and Elaine Ikody, .discus s'. the pross of growing older'in Nour society, the 'special vulnerability of Olderwomen, and the physi6al and psyclological impact that fear of crime and sexualassault have on he lifestye of older.women. Th6, suggeet avoidanceactivities (beviors older., women themselves can adopt -.to, reduce theirexpo ure to high:" risk situations) and protectionactivities (actions thatpolice, housing personnel, families, and neighborscan take to protect older women, from victimizatiop)as a means of preventing rape: These preven- tion strategies, when coupled withpositive' community organiza- tion, can improve the living arrangeinentand environment of Older women. Finally, the authors outlineeducational and train- ing tdols for older wonien, communItygroups, planning,and service agencies, housing personnel, and laWenforcement agencies. exual assaultIs a community problem. Untilwe join together through inc-reased awareness and positht action, we cannot hope I. to prevent the occurrence of sexual assatltof any age gropp.., ThiS book is a beginninrin the Center's continuingeffort to prevent sexual assault of the elderly. Weencourage ydlir consideration ot this material and ite refer?nces and wouldappreciate learning of new and unique programs and strategies that have been developed. Please share your ideas withCks so that we, in turn, can inform othersand together we can work to reduce die viailnizationof the elderly in our society: d .40 Elizabeth S. Kutzke, Chief. National genter,for the Preyention and control a Rape -wkersw 4 , PItEFACE , ,"/' In petober 1916, the National 'Center for the Prevention and Control Of Rape, National InstitUte of Mental Health, awardeda 1-yek,Contract to the Philadelphia Geriatric Center for theprepara- tiOri Of this guide on the protection of older women-against rape And related offenses. deeheréwas virtually no information about rape and older women,. nor had specific programs beep developed. It was recognized, how- , ever, that older people are perhaps more vulnenible than the young /. to environmental stress and. hazards. Many older women live in / high-crime areas in, 'co ngre gate arrangements suchas public housing, high-rise abutment- buildings' for the elderly, welfare hotels, and boarding homes. ,Because they often lack economiciesources and have few 'social supports, "they are locked into such living arrange- ments.Itis,-4 therefore,imperative to develop and implement methodologies to protect them and to allay the acute anxietif3s that have a .profound effect on their lifestyle. The importance of the subjeet cannot, be measured by the mmiber of rapes alone. The goal of this guide is not only 'to prevent rails insofar as is possible, but to reduce the severe mental and emotional stress induced by fear of the-prospect of such assaults. No claim is made rthat ;this guide is 'definithieL rather, it isa beginning, with much work remaining to be done. The guide isa synthesis of specific infamation acquired from many sources natio/rmide. It presentS an approach -to the' problems of prevention .and .protection M the perspective of an older population. Basically, it asserts.that the independence of older 'women to/functiori 'and physically' within their choserv environment must e maximized within tile...deSign of any security program. 'This fYi1osoph Y is re- flected throughout the guide in recommendations for the adaptation of preveiltion and protection actWities for the special needs, of older vitomen and for those interested In their welfare;, Many Erple contributed their time and knowledge to the de- velopment of the guide. Our invakiable wnsultants, Carl L. Curi- ningham, Marjorie Cantor,' and ,Letty Thal!, provided continuing guidance thrbughout the project year in additton to critiques of the mattfrials a`nd .maniveript. A!ppreciation is expressed to' Linda C. .Mey** of tilt Philadelphia Center for Rape Concern, litho provided expert consultation on the problem of seXual assault, an4c1 Eugene O'Neillof. thePhiladelphia Housing Authority, who provided helpful advice on housing.and seeurity procedures.:, 4 IA !PREFACE This guide reflects the professional .experience1 and extensive knowledge gained from those familiar with variO facets of this 1. cOmplex issue. We give speCial thanico. to the tndiviI ual managerkof public housing, senior housing, hotels, and boardi g hornes.in New York and Philadelphia for their assistance an Consu1tati-6-4in facilitating our. research.Security survey persojel of the. Phila.; .delphia Police Department assisted in developing .14:de1 a for the uib of security hardware devices and physicaldesik4f1 ofr livingspaces. Finally, substantive input was, reeeived frOm a1.1 umber ofgerm, tologists, law enforcement and judicialpersonnelPnd criminolOgists, as well as planners, administratorsi aridworkers.)11rape crisis center and housing, health; and social serVice agencies:, hese names apRr in Appendix C. The authors are esbecially grateful to the d .4 cated, diligent., and creative professional staff of the, project. They'll stained a high level of commitment and enthusiasm despite w9 mg with a difficult subject often under adtterse, evendangerou(i cifeumstances.. Indi- vidual staff memberscontributed to the dev:(, pment of prevention and protection models and in preparing draf ribf chapters contained inthispublication:Emily Dunlappac ..round. onthe older incOman; Faye Kahn-T.-personal behattiors;ale Langcommunity organization; Cheryl 1to4rtson. physical :.design and hardware; Katherine,Schwartz-v-.bibliographies; Edna:Segalresource