Rape awareness program also emphasizes prevention

By Sarah Huntley
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Kirstin Brown furrows her 10-year-old brow, inhales deeply and prepares to startle her attacker.

"Back off," she bellows, as she lifts her knee and flicks out her leg for a quick kick.

Then she erupts into a fit of giggles.

This is just a drill, but Amy Farnan hopes the early morning lesson will help Brown and her classmates stay safe should danger strike.

"You have a right to defend yourself and respect yourself," Farnan tells the girls during a presentation of "Yell It, Tell It, Believe It" at Brown Elementary School in northwest Denver.

The program, which focuses on safety techniques and abuse prevention, reaches between 18,000 to 20,000 kids a year. It is run by the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, also known as RAAP.

Since it was founded in 1983, RAAP has provided hotline assistance, counseling and support for women who have been victimized. In recent years, however, the Denver-based organization began to see another need.

"Over half the calls we were getting were about kids or on behalf of kids who were being abused. It just became evident that we needed to address that," says Karmen Carter, RAAP's executive director.

"The other piece is that if we ever want to get out of this business, we have to do something to prevent the problem."

So RAAP began sharing its message with tomorrow's adults. Five educators, most of whom work part time, target schools, Big Sisters programs and community groups that strive to teach girls important life skills.

Depending on the students' ages, the educators use puppets or anecdotal examples to encourage the girls to discuss issues of self-esteem, violence prevention and sexual harassment.

Sometimes, they see immediate results.

RAAP educators elicit between 150 to 200 disclosures of abuse a year. Some come from children who raise their hands during a presentation. Others are based on teacher feedback about how a student is reacting to the message.

"We really try to work with the schools and keep communication open," Carter says.

RAAP's biggest need — both for its prevention and victims services programs — is money. The budget for its education efforts, 24-hour hotline and counseling services totals about $600,000. Some of that comes from government funding, but the organization relies heavily on donations.

For those who are not able to open their wallets, there are other ways to show support. RAAP also benefits from people power.

"It's all about access. We need help getting into the schools," Farnan says. "We go to a lot of PTA meetings to talk to parents about our program. Their support is key."

The group could also use volunteers to staff its around-the-clock, seven-days-a-week crisis hotline. The phone bank, which started out as one line in a church basement, has grown dramatically.

Run by an answering service that patches callers through to volunteers who work out of their homes, the hotline (303 322-7273) logs about 2,000 calls a year. It requires about 50 volunteers, who donate between 24 and 30 hours a month.

RAAP offers hotline training three times a year. The next session is in January.

Not everyone who calls seeks out RAAP's other programs.

"It's very hard for people to come in and get services," Carter says. "But the hotline is a very safe first step. We want people to know they aren't out there alone."

That sense of solidarity has changed at least one rape survivor's life.

Melissa, who asked that her last name be withheld, first sought counseling from RAAP about two years ago — more than nine years after being raped in college.

"I didn't realize how little I really knew," she says. "I think that society still blames the victim, and I was doing that to myself. ... But rape is not your fault. To be in a roomful of other women who are conquering the same issues and fears is very empowering."

Melissa doesn't attend regular counseling sessions these days, but she sees RAAP as a constant resource.

"It scares me to think where I'd be if it weren't this organization," she says. "I always know I have RAAP."

Contact Sarah Huntley at (303) 892-5212 or huntleys@RockyMountainNews.com.

December 13, 2000