Ease rape victims' suffering

It is a crime in itself that women must fear rape. Dread of risking that particularly shattering, most personal attack constrains women physically and emotionally. It deprives them of the common freedom to come and go as they choose and to accept men's aid or friendliness without suspicion.

Freedom from fear of rape cannot be achieved as long as some men feel the hostility toward women that motivates rapists. But there is no excuse for perpetuating the fear of the aftermath of rape that prevents most victims from even reporting the crime.

Councilman Carol McClendon's proposed police rape squad is a good start toward alleviating the problem. A rape victimincluding male victims of homosexual rape-calling for police help would speak immediately to a person sensitive to the immediate medical and psychological needs of the victim. The first policemen the rape victim would encounter would still be the squad car team that took the victim to the hospital, but a rape team of

a man and a woman officer would be there to begin the investigation.

Criticism of police response to rapes. generally focuses on the unsympathetic, brusque, even accusatory attitude of some policemen toward the victim. All police should have special training in dealing with individuals suffering the crisis of rape, and that is provided by the McClendon ordinance.

Establishment of a rape squad attacks the problem only at one end, however. Also needed, as Plain Dealer reporter Rosemary Kovacs' series on the rape crisis points out, are improved hospital procedures for treating rape victims. Any personal assault is shocking to the victim. but rape, because of the sexual taboos it violates, is uniquely damaging and demands special attention, which should include medical and psychological follow-up.

The Rape Crisis Center here is a small, understaffed operation, but it is performing a valuable service not only by assisting rape victims but also by sensitizing hospital staffs and police to the dimensions of the problems of victims.