Most women stay silent about rape, Jane Doe says

Across Canada, it's estimated a woman is raped every 17 minutes. Only one in five incidents of rape are committed by a stranger.

In the 20 years since a masked man broke into her Toronto apartment, tied and raped her at knifepoint, society's treatment of sexual assault against women has gotten worse, not better, says Jane Doe.

While all other forms of violent crimes are declining, incidents of rape and sexual assault are up. And most women continue to keep quiet after they are raped, Doe asserts, so much so that it's estimated only one in 10 incidents are reported to police.

It was with this unsettling message that Doe, whose real name is protected by court order, began her talk hosted last night by the Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre.
She gained her reputation as the woman who successfully sued the Toronto police force for negligence after she was attacked by a serial rapist, and she had no intention of pulling any punches.

In 2005, there were 449 incidents of sexual assault reported in Waterloo Region

LINK: The Kitchener Record