With the FBI changing how it defines rape to be more inclusive and comprehensive, human service agencies across Iowa are hoping to finally get a clear picture of the sexual assault problem locally and nationally, and advocates are bracing for a possible increase in clients.
“Male sex assault is the obvious change — they will count those now,” said Karla Miller, executive director of the Iowa City-based Rape Victim Advocacy Program. “That is huge both in being able to get an accurate assessment of the number and types of sex assaults that occur and in recognizing that there are male victims.”
Until this year, the FBI only acknowledged incidents of rape in their Uniform Crime Report as “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” It lumped other sex crimes — including rapes that do not involve force, occur in marriage or are perpetrated against men — into less serious generic sex offense and assault categories.
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Complete article at Eastern Iowa News : http://bit.ly/wE3t1b
