collaborator perspectives: Spousal Rape Campaign

Eileen Kogen, staff member at Sexual Assault Crisis Center

In Fall 2000, the Sexual Assault Crisis Center was part of a collaborative project with the University of Tennessee Law School to address the problem of domestic sexual violence, specifically how our current law excludes victims of spousal rape from pursuing the same legal remedies available to victims of non-spousal rape. As part of this project, law students educated themselves about the issue and took part in “real-life” efforts to raise public awareness in order to change the law.

Students learned from independent research and interaction with agency staff and marital rape survivors that spousal rape is often a silent but brutalizing aspect of family violence. To break the silence, students developed an educational campaign, including a brochure “Sexual Assault in Marriage: A Guide for Women Who Have Been Raped by Their Spouses,” still in use today by our agency. Students and staff traveled to our state capitol to participate in Grassroots Assembly Day (GAD), met with legislators on our behalf, and presented a video they developed, “All Women Deserve Protection,” that addressed the problems that marital rape victims face. This greatly increased the capacity of many small service agencies across the state to confront the disparity in our laws with the people who have the power to change them.

In addition to the benefits of enhanced education locally and across the state, the collaborative project benefited our agency in more subtle ways. It strengthened our internal organization around this special issue. By combining the energy, resources, and creativity of staff and students from different fields who typically do not strategize together, it sparked our creativity and commitment. The issue we focused on was our issue, and it did not feel like a sacrifice of time or effort to bring the students along. They were self-directed, motivated and involved. The collaboration enabled us to deal with a long-standing problem in new and unique ways. I wholeheartedly recommend such a project to others who may be considering one.

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