As a freshman on the cusp of my first year at Tulane University, I felt it was crucial to understand the city I was about to call my second home. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the city was more or less in shambles; the physical and structural devastation that the city endured was obvious to the eyes of the entire world. The traumatic story of Hurricane Katrina was extensively covered by the media, but the real story to be told is what happened when the cameras were off and the world was not watching.
Pre-Katrina, New Orleans was a city with an alarmingly high crime rate, which proves that Katrina did not bring on this heavy crime streak. However, once Katrina hit, officers of all ranks had an overwhelming number of people and tasks to tend to, making it hard to designate attention to everyone's individual problems. Lets not forget that officers and law enforcement officials themselves were trying to salvage what was left of their own homes, families and lives. Criminals took advantage of the post hurricane chaos, and used the time of uncertainty to pray on the innocent sending sexual assault rates through the roof, highlighting the story I am here to tell today. In lieu of the egregious number of sex crimes that took place during the post-Katrina chaos, the Mayor of New Orleans has actively taken steps to systematically improve the safety features of the city. As tempting as it is to just fist-pump the government for finally implementing some change, the real focus should be on the untold story that took place between 2005 and now.
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During the few days after Katrina hit the city, predators were on the prowl because there truthfully was not the law enforcement around to enforce the law! Data compiled by NPR and the reports made to National Sexual Violence Resource Center show that there were at the minimum 42 reports of sexual assault during the post Katrina scare that did not receive proper attention. One woman, who goes by the name of Ms. Lewis, told NPR that while she was taking refuge in an elderly home after the storm she was held at gunpoint and raped. Ms. Lewis's store was corroborated by a forensic nurse who has the credentials to identify rape, but that was apparently not enough for law enforcement to even hear out the elderly woman. All Ms. Lewis could do was bleach her body in hopes of getting out any possibly sexually transmitted diseases. The fear that Ms. Lewis must have felt and the trauma that she still lives with today is more than any person should ever have to endure. The worst part though, is that the people designated to protect her best interests did not even believe her. I could sit here forever and share with you all countless stories like that of Ms. Lewis, but that is not what I want this article to be about.
Last August, when Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans publicly declared his ambition to improve procedures regarding sexual assault cases, he got nationwide attention. One group in particular that payed close attention to the sexual assault rates in New Orleans was the Marshall Project, a nonprofit group that seeks to share vital information with the rest of the world on the criminal justice system. According to the research that the non-profit projected not much has changed between now and 11 years ago, something that should be especially alarming to college students about to put down roots in New Orleans. The Marshall Project has additionally publicized the words of the Inspector General of New Orleans, which state that in the past few years no more than 14 percent of the sexual assault cases brought to the attention of the NOPD (New Orleans Police Department) were investigated. Additionally, the Inspector General has came out and said that it seems as though 86 percent of rape allegations in the city have essentially just been ignored. As I said before, I am not here to just talk about this disparity, or to act as though I am a feminist with an extremely strong opinion on the matter, because I am not. Every college student should know the reality of the surrounding community, and ignorance is not bliss in this case whatsoever. If this information and flaw in the system had not been presented to me, I would never have known about an issue so prevalent in the city I am currently writing this in.
What you all do with this information though is up to you. Whether you stopped caring after the first paragraph or decided that this issue resinated with you, all the power to you for taking the time. The way to gain momentum behind a cause is to spread awareness, and my goal is to raise awareness to young woman and everyone else who want to make the most of college. In reality though, this was just a glance into a very large untold story that needs to be shared.
