2014 Adult Protection and Advocacy Conference

Session: Understanding Sexual Violence: Responding to Survivors with Disabilities

Mariah’s story

The incident:

Mariah comes to an overnight camp for people with developmentaldisabilities every summer for the past 5 years. She is very independent but continues to live at home with her parents when she’s not at camp. Mariah loves seeing her friends and hanging out, fishing is her favorite activity. She is 19 and has never had a serious relationship. Mariah notices that one boy in particular, Jon, who she met on the first day of camp, has been following her around in the cafeteria. They have talked a bit and she thinks Jon is cute and cool. “He could be a good friend,” she thinks to herself. . One evening Jon invites Mariah to go fishing with him after dinner. She knows she is supposed to be getting ready for bed but Mariah is curious about this great fishing spot Jon keeps mentioning. The camp staff check-in on the campers before bed but Mariah sneaks out a few minutes after they are checked on. She knows she has a few hours before anyone will notice she’s gone. She is excited for this and feeling adventurous by sneaking out.

Once Mariah and Jon meet, they begin walking near the river and Jon keeps trying to touch Mariah. She realizes Jon likes her as more than a friend. She lets him hold her hand, even though she doesn’t feel right about it. She doesn’t know how to tell him “no” without hurting his feelings. After they sit for a while Jon tries to push it further. He grabs her above the waist and starts kissing her all over. Mariah pushes him away. She does not yell or kick him. She continually asks him “Jon what are you doing?” He tells her that he really likes her and she will get in trouble for sneaking out if she tells anyone. She is confused and scared to move now. Jon is bigger than her and she’s afraid he’ll hurt her. He continues to grab Mariah and kiss her until they hear something in the bushes. At that point they both get up and leave the area. Mariah feels like crying on the walk back but doesn’t. She’s not sure what to do now. Jon starts back to his cabin and reminds Mariah that if she tells anyone that she will get in trouble with staff, then staff will tell her parents and she won’t be allowed back at camp next year.

The disclosure:

Five days later Mariah’s group is on a hike near the river. It’s sunny and beautiful outside but she’s been feeling down ever since “that thing” happened last week. Her friends have noticed that she hasn’t been talking to them as much but they think she’s mad at them. They don’t know what is really going on. Mariah has also had trouble sleeping at night. She’s been avoiding the cafeteria because she knows that’s where she used to see Jon.She hasn’t really been very hungry anyway.

While on this hike Mariah passes the grassy spot where that “thing” with Jon happened. She bursts into tears and one of the staff, Damien notices and slows down to talk to her. Mariah starts explaining that something bad happened but doesn’t give too many details. She mentions Jon’s name. Damien tries to comfort Mariah by saying “I promise you’ll be okay, you don’t need to cry”. He tries to give her a hug but Mariah jumps back, she doesn’t feel comfortable with Damien hugging her, even though they’ve known each other for years. Damien doesn’t want to ask any questions and doesn’t really know what to say after that. He walks Mariah back to the nurse’s station at the campsite. Mariah feels lonely right now and embarrassed at her reaction. She remembers three years ago a camper, Stacy, told someone that a staff person raped her. The staff person quit after that but Mariah remembers hearing many rumors about Stacy being a liar. Nobody wanted that staff person to quit because of Stacy. Mariah doesn’t want people to think that she’s trying to cause a commotion for attention. She is still worried she will get in trouble at the end of the day.

The response:

Back at the nurse’s station Nurse Angela watches Damien walk up with Mariah. He tells her “I think she had sex with one of the other campers or something?” and walks off. Mariah overhears this and cringes. Nurse Angela asks her what is going on. She tells her the whole story. Mariah continues to call it “that thing that happened” and this confuses Nurse Angela. Nurse Angela nods and listens for a while and then asks “why did you sneak out with him? Why did you hold hands with him?” It seems like Mariah’s story isn’t making sense to Nurse Angela. Mariah becomes quiet and really wishes she didn’t tell anybody anything. Nurse Angela brings in the camp supervisor, Carmen, and asks Mariah to repeat her story again. Nurse Angela and Carmen decide it’s best to move Jon to another campsite two miles away and call both parties parents/guardian’s. They tell Mariah they are not going to take her to the hospital because she wasn’t really raped but they will call the police. Mariah doesn’t want to talk to the police but doesn’t think she really has a choice. Supervisor Carmen considers reporting to DCFS or Adult Protective Services but decides she does not need to do this.

Mariah’s parents come to pick her up later that day. The supervisor, Carmen, has already explained to them what’s happened. They aren’t mad at her but decide that she is not going back to camp. Mariah isn’t sure what to think about any of it but again wishes she had never told anyone at all. Jon receives a punishment but continues to attend camp since there were never any formal allegations.

Worksheet for Mariah’s Story

  1. a. Did Mariah consent? Why or why not?

b. What signals indicated Mariah was uncomfortable?

  1. Identify the symptoms of Rape Trauma Syndrome in this scenario?
  2. What physical symptoms were present?
  1. What emotional symptoms were present?
  1. What behavioral symptoms were present?
  1. What did staff members do right? What could they have done better? Be specific.
  1. If you were a staff member there, how would you respond?
  1. What are some ways Mariah’s disability could have impacted the experience?
  1. How could policy have been helpful? How could it have been detrimental?

IL Imagines/8.2014