June 8, 2007
A SURVIVOR SPEAKS
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Politicians want to keep rape survivors in the dark. |
There are a lot of reasons Alandra Mitchell is disgusted by Democratic Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn's proposed legislation to forcibly administer HIV tests to rape suspects (See "Bad Bill Can Be Stopped" above). As an HIV positive woman, she's appalled that legislators and bill-supporter Governor Spitzer are capitalizing on fear of HIV/AIDS for cheap political gain. "When I heard about this bill, it sounded like something out of Guantanamo Bay," said Mitchell, 36. "I believe HIV positive people have been singled out enough." As a person who was in and out of prison for many years, she is a firm believer that "it's not right to test people without allowing them their due process." And as a rape survivor, Mitchell is saddened that this new legislation could lead other survivors to make bad decisions about their health. "People probably jump to support the bill like it's a good thing without seeing unintended consequences," she said.
Mitchell, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2000, has been hard at work educating legislators in Albany on the potentially dire consequences of forced HIV&mdashtesting of rape suspects,But she's not alone in this fight: 35 New York organizations have signed a letter decrying Mayersohn's bill including the National Organization for Women, Women Fighting AIDS and the Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE).
"This bill gives false hope to survivors of sexual assault. It suggests that when a rape suspect gets an HIV test, the result directly affects the health of the survivor," said Tracy Hobson, executive director of CAE, a group that works with sexual assault survivors. "But it often takes time to get those results. That's dangerous because a decision about post-exposure prophylaxis has to be made right away."
"I don't think the people who wrote this bill meant harm, but they just weren't educated,"said Mitchell, who lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and is in the Housing Works job training program. When she was raped in 1996, she was ignorant of her rights and thinks she probably would have supported the proposed forced testing legislation. "At the time, I wasn't really educated," she said."I was angry and wouldn't have been able to see that this bill wouldn't have helped me."
Kimberley Smith at the Women's Institute of GMHC said that survivors of sexual assault who don't understand the intricacies of the Mayersohn' bill might be easily misled."It's an emotionally appealing case," she said. "But it's in a woman's best interest to be counseled." Smith adds that GMHC supports rape survivors undergoing PEP regardless of the alleged perpetrator's HIV status.
"I didn't feel like anyone cared."Mitchell has met with staffers for state legislators, and she said that judging by their reactions, they are less likely to support the bill once they realize its potential harm. "A lot of staffers didn't have a clue," she said. "But as they listened, they said, 'Well, kind of, sort of, this bill doesn't sound right.'"
Mitchell's assailant was never caught and she's not sure when exactly she got HIV. But her experience as a rape survivor illustrates how little the government and government agencies often understand about aiding women who are sexually assaulted. Reporting the crime at her local precinct was traumatic. "The whole thing was just very cold and business&mdashlike," Mitchell said. "They just sort of followed through with the procedures, but I didn't feel like anyone cared." No PEP test was administered, as that wasn't standard procedure until 1997.
After her release from prison in 2004, Mitchell came to Housing Works for help finding shelter. A Housing Works bus trip to Albany got her hooked on advocacy. "I'm able to understand how important it is to hold elected officials accountable," Mitchell said. "I'm proof that a person can change and make a difference."
Today when Mitchell meets rape survivors who aren't informed of their right to have PEP treatment, it upsets her, but also inspires her to action. "That's an injustice. A rape survivor, wherever that person is, should land at the precinct, and be able to receive proper care."
To sign onto the GMHC letter contact Daryl Cochrane at darylc@gmhc.org.
To participate in Housing Works Advocacy Day opposing Bill A. 4861 contact Charles Long at long2@housingworks.org.