September 2, 1997
Contact: Carol Jordan, Executive Director
Governor's Office of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Services
502-564-2611

Governor Patton Declares Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Kentucky

Governor Paul Patton and First Lady Judi Patton held a news conference today to raise the awareness of all Kentuckians to the crime of sexual assault. Governor Patton took the opportunity to declare September as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, saying "The reality of sexual assault in Kentucky is alarming. Too many Kentuckians suffer from the aftermath of sexual violence, and too many live in fear of being the victim of this crime."

The Pattons were joined at the news conference by student representatives from several universities in order to give emphasis to the incidence of sexual assault on college and university campuses. Heather Roe, a student from the University of Louisville spoke in support of the Governor's action of declaring the specially designated month, saying, "It's time to give these victims a voice, to do away with the taboo that for so many decades has surrounded the issue of sexual assault. And that is exactly what Kentucky is trying to do."

Governor Patton said, "The murder of a young man and the sexual attack on a young woman just blocks from the University of Kentucky last week is a graphic example of the kind of violence people on Kentucky's college campuses can face."

Also present as the Governor declared Sexual Assault Awareness Month were representatives from each of the Rape Crisis Centers in Kentucky. The Centers unveiled a media campaign which will be undertaken during the month which emphasizes the need to believe victims of rape when they come forward to report the crime or reach out for help.

Related Data:

During FY 1997, 7,657 unduplicated victims were served by Kentucky Rape Crisis Centers. Of that number, 86% were female.

During FY 1997, Kentucky Rape Crisis Centers responded to 8,466 crisis calls and provided over 60,000 counseling sessions to victims of sexual violence.

Source: Kentucky Department for Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services, Rape Crisis Center Client/Service Statistics

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky during 1995, every 6 hours and 53 minutes a rape was committed which was eventually reported to a law enforcement agency.

Source: Crime in Kentucky, 1995

Each year an estimated 500,000 women are the victims of some form of rape or sexual assault. Altogether, offenders known to the victim accounted for about three-quarters of all rapes and sexual assaults against women. Strangers committed 18 percent of such assaults.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Violence against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. August 1995

For every rape reported to police, three of ten rapes go unreported.

Source: The Commonwealth Fund, Commission on Women's Health, Violence Against Women in the United States: A Comprehensive Background Paper. November 1995;43