Rallies support victim's rights in rape, sexual assault trials

Forty cities rallied Tuesday to support Tory Bowen's right to use the word rape in court.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2005 graduate Tory Bowen's sexual assault trial gained national attention when Judge Jeffre Cheuvront of Lancaster County District Court barred words including "rape", "sexual assault" and "sexual assault nurse" from the trial.

The latest trial to decide the case was dismissed, prompting the rally.

"Two, four, six, eight, no more violence, no more hate," an assembly chanted Tuesday in front of the Douglas County Court House.

Seven people held signs that read, "Seeking justice is not a crime," "Rape, not sex, is the crime" and "Victims have the right to be heard" for a Bowen-inspired victims' rights rally sponsored by Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, also known as PAVE.

Oct. 31, 2004, Bowen was allegedly raped by Pamir Safi. Her first two trials did not clear the case: The first concluded with a hung jury, the second was declared a mistrial.

The latest trial, scheduled for Feb. 19, was dismissed because Cheuvront banned too much evidence.

"It is really difficult to prove rape when you are not allowed to say it," Bowen said.

Bowen attended one of PAVE's rallies in Washington, Angela Rose, the founder and executive director of PAVE was in Chicago for another and Bowen's parents were in Los Angeles.

"There were quite a few rallies, and I think that is important because it shows it really isn't about me at this point," Bowen said. "My case represents the injustices that most rape victims and sexual assault victims face daily when they go into trials."

University of Nebraska at Omaha students Martina Running, a junior social work major and Laura Elliott, a sophomore secondary education major, organized the rally.

"We heard they were doing another rally on behalf of freedom of speech for victims," Elliott said. "We decided since it did happen in Lincoln, it was really important to bring to the attention of people in Nebraska that language bans happen and victims are not always given fair trials."

The victim's rights rally hit home for Heather Rader, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln junior animal science major. Rader said she was raped in December 2007 by an ex-boyfriend. After she called the police, they told her there was not enough evidence to move her case further.

Rader was not able to attend the rally because of her class schedule, but she said the rally's support was touching.

"I felt so alone, - I felt like everyone thought I was lying and I wasn't," Rader said. "Having people stand up for victims' rights shows there is a voice out there."

There will be another rally called "Kick Back the Night," March 28, at 7:30 p.m. at UNO.

alissaskelton@dailynebraskan.com