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Carole Mikita Reporting One in three Utah women will be a victim of sexual violence in her lifetime, according to a recent study. More frightening, many never report the assaults. But those who do often turn to the Rape Recovery Center through its Crisis Hotline.
Rape Victim: "After the incident, I was quite numb and in shock, for about 24 hours actually. And it was at that time I realized, I've gotta get some help."
The incident, a rape, happened just a month ago. Help came with a phone call. What she heard on the other end was emotional support; then members of the response team met her and her husband at the hospital.
Rape Victim: "To make sure that my wishes were clearly known to medical staff, to the police, to the nurse who does the examination."
The violence did not just affect her, she has a family.
Husband of Rape Victim: "I didn't necessarily understand that I would be going through, experiencing some of the same emotions that my wife was experiencing."
Equally horrifying, she knows the perpetrator.
Rape Victim: "This was an acquaintance rape; this was someone I did know, this was someone I trusted. I'm still in the recovery process. I still look over my shoulder when I go to my car."
But she does not see herself as a victim, rather a survivor.
The Rape Recovery Center has provided free counseling for both the victim and her husband.
Several friends recently admitted to her they too had been raped and never told anyone. The center's motto: 'Rape is never the victim's fault'.
Husband of Rape Victim: "They need to know there's a place available for them, no matter how long it's been, that they can come and gain some understanding and gain peace again in their lives."
Rape Victim: "And there will be light at the end of the day."
The Rape Recovery Center's Hotline is 801-467- 7273. Volunteers are there 24 hours a day, every day.
