Perspective: Rape victims deserve justice

As discussed in last week’s column, rape is a crime in which victims are traumatized for life and the perpetrator experiences none of the pain and shame. The lives of the victims are shattered; some never recover.

The consequences are so serious that even though I believe in the sanctity of life as a Christian principle, I would not want to live in Texas where the government has decided to increase the punishment by putting a bounty on any woman opting for abortion.

Is it the proper role for the anti-abortion folks to decide through the courts or state legislatures to pre-empt options for women who become pregnant as a result of a rape? Because opposition to abortion is based on theological grounds, in some cases it constitutes the use of religion to excuse rapists.

If society decides to do anything, it should level the playing field by acknowledging that rape destroys lives and it should take steps to protect women as they haven’t been protected before. At present, rape is a neglected crime in the justice system. A burglary gets quicker response than does rape.

First, to offer the pregnant rape victim adoption rather than abortion, the adoption system needs to be streamlined. There are more hopeful couples that want to adopt than there are children to adopt.

The hands-on experts with whom we consulted allege that North Dakota has a smooth adoption system. However, that shouldn’t exempt our adoption system from constant review. Some adoptions are quick and easy, but that is not always the case.

The fly in the soup is the federal Indian child welfare act in which tribes can reclaim a child at any time, making adoption tenuous.

From my four years chairing the N.D. Indian Affairs Commission, reading reports about child abuse on reservations, and personal contacts with Native Americans fighting the system, I allege that payments for Indian foster parents are used as patronage on the reservations. Incompetence permeates the tribal system.

Then there is the problem of letting rapists run free. Many rapes are not reported and of those reported less than one percent are convicted. Justice for rape victims evaporates as enforcement agencies mark their calendars. The odds of convicting a burglar are better than convicting a rapist that has done much more damage to an innocent victim.

Time is on the side of the rapist. One state had to get federal money to clear a backlog of rape cases. Numerous rapes occur on our college campuses each year, but these institutions are known for their pedestrian treatment of rape.

For a male-run criminal justice system, there seems to be no need to rush to deal deftly with the crime.

Because evidence in a rape case dissolves quickly, speedy prosecution is critical before the victim folds, the rapist goes on the run and witnesses disappear. It would be safe to say that most rape cases die of old age.

Just as society has SWAT teams to deal quickly with stand-offs, we ought to have a similar rape unit to rush capture and conviction of rapists. The whole timetable should be condensed; normal is not enough.

As for incarceration, we must make conviction a deterrent. My worldly self suggests that instead of prison, convicted rapists should be given two egg-salad sandwiches, a Swiss knife and dropped by parachute somewhere in the Northwest Territory. That should be a deterrent.

In cases of rape pregnancies, the crime and personal consequences are so serious that the voice of the victim should be heard. Instead of listening to the victim, we are using the government to impose our religious beliefs when most of us have no stake in the outcome. It isn’t justice and it isn’t Scriptural. One size does not fit all.

The person who has the most to lose should be the person who has the most to say.