Paradise on St. Croix?

38 out of 63 is 60%.

I don't think that qualifies the problem as just a STX problem.

J.

And that last story is heart breaking.

Chris,
I agree with you that any type of sexual assault is abhorrent. I believe that the guys who do these crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. (Notice I do not call them men as no man would do such a thing.) Having said that, I have to ask what you have against St Croix. I have seen several of your posts here that are extremely critical of St Croix. My wife and I live here and we love it. We believe that St John is a beautiful place, but it's not where we want to live. I fully support you entitlement to your opinion, but I can't understand why you have to downgrade St Croix to such an extent. I guess you and I will just have to agree to disagree.

Ric

"I have seen several of your posts here that are extremely critical of St Croix. "
Free speech is a beautiful thing. Being critical and voicing out against things you see, hear, and read is sometimes the only way to stir things up and get reactions and action. If families are reading these threads and not reading our papers, how would they know of these crimes against children?
"My wife and I live here and we love it."
Good for you. Free speech is a good thing. Luckily nothing has effected you.
"We believe that St John is a beautiful place, but it's not where we want to live. "
Good for you. Maybe I dont want to live anywhere else. I never asked you to move from STX to live here. St. John is not the issue. 8 year olds getting raped is the issue. Last I checked, that wasnt happening on St. John.
"I fully support you entitlement to your opinion, but I can't understand why you have to downgrade St Croix to such an extent."
St. Croix downgrades itself, sir. Are you ashamed? I would be. If things like that occured on STJ, I would not tolerate it with such passive indivualism. Its sounds like this to me: Oh man....this guy is ragging on STX. Granted the rapes only get reported once a week or so but I am fine and man the weather is awesome. DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR ISLAND. It almost sounds like i care about it more than you. Its pathetic and your reaction only feeds into passiveness. Just close your doors and ears to the children of the next generation. I am embarrased and sad and i dont even live there, thats why I post what I post. I CARE. Does that make me the evil critic from St. John? So be it.

A majority actually does quantify a problem, J.
60% out of three islands is not acceptable.
I bet STX would like 60% of the tourist dollars.

Chris, you're absolutely right. What do you suggest we do?

St. Croix has always been the ugly step sister in the other islanders minds. And St Thomas seems like the mainland to me, so maybe they see Stx as backward? Compare the statistics in other cities. I lived in Stx alone for 7 years and was never bothered by anyone. I am small, blond and female.

speak out and talk about it rather than acting like there isnt a problem.

Chris,
I agree that free speech is a wonderful thing. I spent 25 years helping defend that and the other rights we have.
I do not ignore the problems we have on St Croix or the rest of the world for that matter. I spent four days last week working with kids on the island trying to expose them to some of the better parts of life. For a little while I (and a lot of other people) tried to take them from the everyday problems and show them what they can accomplish. I spent several hours just listening to the young people and their concerns. Their concerns are no different than the concerns we had when we were their age. I hope we made some difference for at least some of these kids. As long as there is hopelessness there will be crime.
What I have tried to explain is, while there are serious problems here, this island has a great number of positives. It's easy to criticize and point out the problems. It's harder to try to do something about the problems. It's harder to point out what is good about a place. The people of St Croix have no more problems than the people living in the states. (I have lived in KY, IN, NY and MI) It will never be perfect. Yes, we have to spend time and energy trying to improve our lot in life, but if we don't spend at least a little time "smelling the roses" we become jaded. Life here, compared to other parts of the world is good. We need to celebrate our successes and work to correct our failures. Sometimes I think I would like to see the people who harm others die a slow and painful death. That is not realistic. We need to correct the situations that cause people to strike out in the first place.
I am definitely not ashamed of the people of St Croix. The vast majority are hardworking, God fearing people. There is a tiny minority doing harm to others. We must spend at least as much time building up the good people as we do trying to punish the bad ones.
Continually decrying that there is a problem will never solve anything. Giving people hope that their lives can be improved will help solve the problem. Making positive suggestions and working will help solve the problem. A positive attitude toward each other will help solve the problem.

Wow, it really does look like Chris Cody has an axe to grind here.

Looks to be a bit more than the exercise of 'free speech' to me. If being critical and voicing an opinion about an issue was what its all about, I don't understand coming out and making the statement that STX is a paradise for rapists.

60% there, none on St John, then 40% on STT. STT is a stone's throw from STJ, so why aren't you more concerned about the rapes there?

Gee, maybe because I brought that up it means that I care about it more than Chris Cody does.

So Chris Cody...
Say something productive... if families decide to move somewhere or even vacation there without checking out the news and goings on in the area, it isn't your job to paint the island with such a filthily broad brush for them. And if you do decide to do so, use some tact.

You're giving STJ a bad name, but I won't assume that the rest of STJ would behave this way.

Chris

Yeah, ok.
I don't think i could disagree with you more strongly.
Comparing the dynamics of a fairly small island to that of crime in the states is absurd.
Life here is nothing like the states. For every similarity, I could point out ten differences.
You seem to me to be saying you really don't have a problem. THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

"Life here, compared to other parts of the world is good. " Yeah ok, if its not your children being raped, maybe. Desensitized view. Are these people commiting these crimes "striking out" at the world? GIMME A BREAK! They are frickin SICKOS and wacked in the head. They should lock them up and lose the keys.

"There is a tiny minority doing harm to others." Ever have a rotten apple in a basket and didnt seperate it but you let it sit with the other apples? What happens?

Scarey thing is...you know how much guts it took for an 8 year old to report a crime like this? How many of these are happening that arent reported? That is what I wonder.....
Is really 38 rapes a small number? Take the number of rapes proportional to the population and tell me it is a small number.

You don't solve problems like this by saying things are worse elsewhere.
You get police in the streets and put fear into the criminals with neighborhood watches and get to know your neighbors and watch out for each other and cut the corruption in the police force. Admitt there is a problem, then work together to solve it. You are either a part of the problem or solution. There is no fence to ride.

If i sound jaded, maybe thats because i have no tolerance for child abuse.
Its better than saying things are worse elsewhere and there is no problem.
Tell that to that little girl. I dare you.

Chris:
Thank you for your personal attack. I appreciate it.

I am concerned.
I guess since i dont live on STX, I cant care and try and get this out in the open. How does STJ play into this? I guess a better person than me would read the newspaper, shake his head and go on with his day. Certainly not bring it up on VINOW.com!

The crimes that i have heard and read about from STX are really disheartening.
Yes, I care. If you want to paint that in a negative light and attack me, you are allowed.
I am not going to regress and attack you. I wouldnt talk about tact, if i were you. Tell me what a polite way of talking about 8 year olds being raped and gaged on their way to school. Tell me a good way to not care and ignore it. I would like to know because it bugs the hell out of me.
Are you worried that someone is going to lose some tourist money? GIMME A BREAK.
I dont think you should be so shallow. Like i am going to scare away a cruise ship or a Danish tour group...... I have no agenda other than trying to get this out in the open and try to help in some way. No one thinks there is a problem so maybe i am a fool for caring and trying to help get something started.

Did anyone mention that until 9-11, St Thomas had many more crimes than St. Croix? The number of rapes on St Thomas has always exceded the number on St. Croix until recenlty. St Croix is in bad shape right now as many who live there and many who don't live there would agree. It still looks the same but the economy and vibe so to speak is not what it once was, and it may take a while to get it back to the vibrant community as it once was.

Could you help me out a little here, Chris? I'm trying to do exactly what you said and take the number of rapes proportional to the population. I'm not sure exactly where to get those numbers, though, and I'm guessing you must have researched this more than I have....

The National Crime Victimization Survey for 2002 (last full year available) published on www.rainn.org says that the national average of rapes per capita was approximately 0.4. Using the CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook) estimate of the Virgin Islands population (124,778) this would equate to approximately 50 rapes per year. But according to RAINN, black population members are 10% to 20% more likely to be victims of rape than white ones, and given the nearly 80% black population of the USVI, that would make the adjusted proportional total about between 55 and 60 rapes comparatively. Instead, at 63 approximately 11/12 of the way through this year, the USVI appears to be running about 68 rapes per year or around 13% above the US national average (for rural, suburban and urban areas combined).

To answer your earlier question, in my mind one rape per year is not a small number and for the family of a victim the statistical facts are irrelevant. And to join with Linda, the real question is not how bad is it, but what do we do (and in my mind that's a lot more than just talking about it)?

Still, I'm having a little trouble with the idea of painting the islands in general or STX in particular as a "Paradise for Rapists" -- that seems awfully harsh given the statistics I can find. Do you have more relevant input that I should be looking at?

My bad. I should have said around 13% above the US national average (for rural, suburban and urban areas combined but adjusted for racial makeup).

You took the total population.
Mostly women and children are victims. You shouldnt count men of the population as a possible victim.
And use St. Croix statistics....their population and their rapes but exclude men as possible victims and you will get a percentage of the population that is raped every year on STX.
In fact the majority of these rapes were commited against children.

It might not be national data but it gives you a sense of how many people are victims.

And again I ask Chris, what are YOU doing about this situation? Are you volunteering? Are you giving money to the Women' Colliation (my spelling stinks)? Or maybe you're giving your time to some youth group? Or mentoring some youngster?

Or are you just bemoaning the facts on this board?

Linda,
Chris (Cody) isn't going to do any of the things you asked about. Chris will live on St John and pontificate from there on the evils of St Thomas and St Croix.
Mary

No, I have to use the total VI population because the NCVS statistic is PER CAPITA, not per capita of female population. It does reflect TOTAL rapes as opposed to rapes of female victims only (and I assume you're telling me your statistic is just females then), which RAINN says represents 7 out of every 8 rapes.

But before I can adjust for that, I need to correct one glaring mistake on my part. I notice that the NCVS numbers don't include children under 12 due to the survey's methodology. RAINN points to the last national report (1992) that did include children and interpolates that 1 out of every 6 rapes is a child under 12. That means my numbers should have said that given a comparable racial makeup to the VI, any US community the size of the VI would have between 66 and 72 rapes per year.

So adjusting for females only (BTW, do you have the actual statistic for both sexes in the VI?) the statistic would then be 58 to 63, meaning the VI is still somewhere between 10% and 15% above average vs your numbers. And we're getting into extremely sketchy margins of error here (one rape throws the percentages off significantly), but using the 2000 survey and saying that 49% of the VI's population is on STX and the 38 rapes you mentioned, we could guess that STX is between 20% and 33% above the national average while STT is actually somewhat below.

And nationally, the majority of rape victims are minors. The VI is "normal" there.

But again Linda is right -- it doesn't matter what we SAY here, it matters what we DO.

Islander, do you think you might be able to look up some of the domestic violence / rape activist organizations and post them on the site?

RAINN calculates that, adjusting for unreported rapes, 15 out of 16 rapists go free. That statistic is appalling. I don't know where the VI stands in comparison, but clearly we need to get our on-duty police force out of the bars and attacking this problem aggressively, and to make sure that prosecution and sentencing is vigilant. I would love to hear input on what we can do together to effect a change.

Never mind. I just found your statistic in the Virgin Islands Daily News and it isn't female specific, making your argument on that point invalid. So I do have to count "men" (your word -- actually nearly all male rape victims are minors) as possible victims. That means the VI as a whole is no higher than anywhere else in the US with a similar racial makeup. STX is still above average, but not by much, especially after allowing for the margin of error.

By the way, why do you think males can't be "possible rape victims"?

Mary Y? is that you? Are you on island yet? If so, email me -- 🙂

When an 11 year old girl is MEDICALLY IDENTIFIED as having been sexually assaulted and the perpetrator is found not guilty because the child was the only witness, it is easier to understand why over 93% of rapists never see jail time. Our justice system is a farce if a "fair" trial means a trial that's unfair to crime victims -- and to our children. That is the first thing that must be overhauled.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=3163169

Unfortunately, rapes will never be eliminated.

I am not familiar with the common teachings down on the islands, but I would imagine that the 'be wary of strangers' kind of thing is taught to children down there just as it is up here in the continental US.

Once you get past that point, we really need to take a look at the specifics of the cases to see what the circumstances were surrounding each of the alleged rapes before any practical solutions can be put forth.

I think that we must be careful though in making the case that just because a girl is medically identified as being a rapte victim that the alleged perpetrator should be viewed almost like he is guilty until proven innocent. I'm sure that that is not the point that SailAway was making, and I am hoping that 90+% of the accused rapists are set free because there is not enough evidence to link them to the victim. If that is not the case, and many clear-cut rapists are being set free due to corruption or such, then there you have a big part of what the solution will be.

If that isn't the case, then perhaps the problem lies partly in the investigative techniques of the police officers there.

Yet another piece of the puzzle is the availability of treatment for psychologically 'defective' people who engage or might engage in this type of behavior in the first place. Is such help readily available on the islands? In a recent packet I received from 'Island News' I noted only one single psychiatrist on the entire island of STT. Maybe the mental health programs need bolstered in some way.

Government corruption and ineptitude shows its effects in a myriad of ways, and I think that it certainly extends to this problem. Whether it is the juditical system, the police departments, the publicly funded health options, etc. the government certainly has a big influence on it. Too much money (from what I read) is being skimmed, given to friends in back-room deals, etc. that might be better used to train the law enforcement, get some psychologists/psychiatrists down there, and educate the voters who put the people in those judicial positions.

There are no easy answers, and even if all of the above were improved by several times over, rape would still not be eliminated.

So where does one start? Those of you who live on the islands probably have a better idea than I do.

Chris

Of course I'm not suggesting that a defendant be considered guilty until proven innocent. My point is that nearly all rapes have only one witness -- the victim. And discounting that witness' testimony (I don't have a transcript of the trial but based on the reporter's comments that's exactly what the primary defense argument was) because he or she was a minor creates an unfair concept of citizenship and civil rights for minors.

It looks to me that the same argument sexual assault activist groups made 30 years ago still holds true -- when a rapist goes to court it is really the victim that is placed on trial. Until that changes we should openly admit that we consider a "fair" trial for defendants to be more important than making a difference in the commission of sexual assault crimes. 15 out of 16 rapists go free. Until we change the process that allows a defense attorney to turn the tables on victims, expect it to stay that way.