#believevictims

A close look into our country’s history and its patriarchal values reveals the truth of our system. Even as early as the 17th century, Lord Matthew Hale, a judge in England, warned jurors that rape charges are “accusations easily made and hard to prove and harder to be defended by the party accused”. He also advised that the victim’s testimony should be cautiously examined. In the past few years, it has become clear that this same sentiment has been passed through the legislative branch, cementing in our culture as time passes. Harvey Weinstein, after being accused by over 80 women,  is still on trial and may not even go to prison. Bill Cosby was finally imprisoned after more than 60 women came forward with allegations of abuse and harassment. Christine Blasey Ford continually faces death threats while her rapist, Brett Kavanaugh, is now a judge in the highest court in the land. The case of Jeffrey Epstein, which describes allegations against a man who sexually assaulted more than a hundred underage girls through a network of abuse and power-dynamics, was dropped after Epstein’s supposed suicide while in jail. Brock Turner, who raped his unconscious victim during a party, was released after serving half of his six-month sentence. If anything, these instances blare the message “Don’t report your rape!”. 

Throughout our country’s history, rape has rarely been deeply investigated, prosecuted or punished. Sexual assault is joked about. It is a crime thrown to the side when many voters make decisions on what candidate to vote for. It is almost easy to get away with. Out of every 1000 instances of rape, 13 get referred to a prosecutor and only 7 cases lead to a felony conviction. Last year, more than 20,000 women decided not to proceed with a rape investigation. 

The way that rape is treated in this country, and in most other countries, is despicable. If a victim wants to get a rape kit done, they must not wash, eat, drink, change clothes, or clean up any mess. They must provide every possible piece of evidence proving that the rape wasn’t consensual. In most cases, the victim is thrown questions like “What were you wearing?” “Were you drinking?” “What is your relationship with your accuser?” “How often do you have sex?” and other questions. Victims are forced to relive their nightmares and share intimate details of their sexual and personal lives, as well as removing their veil of privacy. Not to mention, the trauma that comes with speaking out, places an almost unbearable mental load on the accuser. One of Cristine Blasey Ford's most powerful quotes echoes this sentiment exactly: “Apart from the assault itself, these last couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. I have had to relive my trauma in front of the entire world.” 

Rape culture, in essence, tells people to not be raped instead of teaching people to not rape. It manifests in victim-blaming, normalizing sexual violence, glossing over sexual assault with terms like “sexual misconduct” and through the hyper sexualizing of women and girls. If we are to truly revolutionize our system, we must start by believing and supporting victims, standing in solidarity with those who speak out and those who are shouldering their burden alone, calling out rape culture, and protesting fervently against a legal system that doesn’t do justice to survivors of rape and sexual assault.

References

“What Is Rape Culture? | WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre.” WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre, 19 Mar. 2019, www.wavaw.ca/what-is-rape-culture/.

Bowcott, Owen, and Caelainn Barr. “Half of Rape Victims Drop out of Cases Even after Suspect Is Identified.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Nov. 2019, www.theguardian.com/society/2019/nov/10/half-of-victims-drop-out-of-cases-even-after-suspect-is-identified.

Hagerty, Barbara Bradley. “American Law Does Not Take Rape Seriously.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/american-law-rape/605620/.

Hesse, Monica. “Perspective | #MeToo Voices Aren't Too Biased for the Harvey Weinstein Jury. They're Necessary.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Jan. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/metoo-voices-arent-too-biased-for-the-harvey-weinstein-jury-theyre-necessary/2020/01/13/ef642496-32f5-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html.