Features Editor

Rape, molestation and sexual harassment are still terms that are kept in the darkness, blinded from sight and censored from society’s ears.

In their teens, Judy Snyder, Edna Wilson and Gloria Dumler became one of the first rape advocates of their time to give rape victims a voice.

The trio discussed the topic of rape culture in the ‘70s during the Brown Bag Discussion, to a mixture of students and faculty on April 26.

“We were a group of frustrated young women,” Snyder said. “Times were different from what you see today.”

In the kitchen room of Wilson’s house, the three women ran a rape hotline for victims who needed help or just someone to tell their stories to. They stayed active for 15 years in a group they named Sisterhood.

Awareness and prevention of rape in the ‘70s were very little and were easily bypassed in the system.

“There was an undercurrent that was not being addressed,” Snyder said. “In most states, it wasn’t rape if the husband did it.”

Snyder recalled back to one story of a man who had crawled through a woman’s window and raped her. The woman begged the man to be quiet because her mother was asleep in the next room. Because the woman asked the man to be silent police did not consider it rape.

Years later, the woman was raped again, and the case was ignored because it was her second time reporting rape.

Snyder, Wilson and Dumler immersed themselves in their volunteer efforts to help rape victims get the treatment and justice they deserved.

By 1976, they were given a grant by the Office of Criminal Justice to further their work. Snyder, Wilson and Dumler all took part in training the hospital staff, organizations and law enforcement how to handle and care for a rape victim.

“We became the experts, the grassroot experts,” Snyder said. “Open you minds open your heart and embrace the people who experience that.”

Snyder mentioned that one of her proudest moments during her 15 years serving as an advocate was training two social workers who went on to create Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

Snyder left the field in 1990 after receiving a call from a woman who was raped. She recalled pulling up to the woman’s house who stood outside in ripped clothing. The officer prevented the woman from leaving or going to the hospital due to her being part of the investigation.

Snyder informed the officer that he was not going about the issue the right way, and that he was breaking the rules. The officer had self-disclosed his belief that some women deserved rape and his dislike for prostitutes.

Three days later the cop was arrested under murder charges of women prostitutes.

“That’s when I walked away,” Snyder said.

Though times are different, sexual assault is still an issue amongst women and men alike. Dumler discussed the awareness and prevention that are needed in today’s society.

“Pain is not stimulating,” Dumler said addressing the myth of orgasms during rape.

California has grown in awareness since the ‘70s. However, as the digital age advances with social networking, sexual harassment is spreading in new ways. Regardless of the time sexual harassment is sexual harassment, and people need to continue to educate themselves on the topic.

“Rape is a weapon,” said Snyder.