Spring Break
Does society have a 'blame the victim'mentality?
Lonnie Snyder
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Ed-Op
I was reading The Wall Street Journal recently and I came across an article that really bothered me - a woman from the Philippines, who originally claimed she had been raped by a U.S. marine, has rescinded her rape accusation.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, "It wasn't clear why the woman identified as Nicole in court papers, recanted her testimony in a sworn in statement."
After reading that very statement, my head filled with questions and theories. Why would a person suddenly decide that she had not been raped, especially since a court ruling declared that she had indeed been raped in 2005? I wondered if there was outside pressure that caused her to recant her statement.
I find it hard to believe that a victim would just change her story without interference, or possibly a threat. I think society unfairly blames the victims of sexual assaults more than they blame the aggressors. I believe that if a person says he or she was raped, then that is exactly what we should believe.
From listening to survivors of rape and sexual assault, the hardest part of reporting a rape or sexual assault is telling your friends, because friends might not believe an assault took place. I might add, these people are both male and female survivors. I think that the most important thing we can do to help a rape survivor is to believe them. This holds essential since rape is one of the most underreported crimes in this country. Many in the criminal justice community estimate the amounts of sexual assaults that actually occur to be over double the amount that are reported.
Think for a moment what this means: In the U.S. there is an epidemic of sexual harassment or assault - and most of it isn't reported. This means that these silent victims will live forever with the internal stigma, shame and psychological aftermath of a traumatic experience without ever getting help. These people are truly alone.
Further, I really don't like to hear that a person is being pressured to deny that she was raped, as is the case with the woman in the Philippines. I respect that she had the courage to initially report this and go through all the long court proceedings in 2005. She and the accused man were said to have been out to a dinner and a club the night of the rape.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, "It wasn't clear why the woman identified as Nicole in court papers, recanted her testimony in a sworn in statement."
After reading that very statement, my head filled with questions and theories. Why would a person suddenly decide that she had not been raped, especially since a court ruling declared that she had indeed been raped in 2005? I wondered if there was outside pressure that caused her to recant her statement.
I find it hard to believe that a victim would just change her story without interference, or possibly a threat. I think society unfairly blames the victims of sexual assaults more than they blame the aggressors. I believe that if a person says he or she was raped, then that is exactly what we should believe.
From listening to survivors of rape and sexual assault, the hardest part of reporting a rape or sexual assault is telling your friends, because friends might not believe an assault took place. I might add, these people are both male and female survivors. I think that the most important thing we can do to help a rape survivor is to believe them. This holds essential since rape is one of the most underreported crimes in this country. Many in the criminal justice community estimate the amounts of sexual assaults that actually occur to be over double the amount that are reported.
Think for a moment what this means: In the U.S. there is an epidemic of sexual harassment or assault - and most of it isn't reported. This means that these silent victims will live forever with the internal stigma, shame and psychological aftermath of a traumatic experience without ever getting help. These people are truly alone.
Further, I really don't like to hear that a person is being pressured to deny that she was raped, as is the case with the woman in the Philippines. I respect that she had the courage to initially report this and go through all the long court proceedings in 2005. She and the accused man were said to have been out to a dinner and a club the night of the rape.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Morgan Johnson
posted 4/17/09 @ 12:00 PM EST
Lonnie,
I commend you on an excellent article. It was well composed and presented your argument in a way difficult to disagree with - yet I do.
Not because you have made faulty conclusions (you haven't). (Continued…)
Philippinesphil
posted 4/17/09 @ 10:32 PM EST
Unless you've lived here you aren't really qualified to opine seriously on this particular situation. This poor woman was under a lot of pressure to maintain a story that was beyond belief from the get go. (Continued…)
Nicolas Martin
posted 4/21/09 @ 9:41 AM EST
This is a pitiful jumble of lies and insane conjectures. More evidence that the contemporary college student is incapable of what is conventionally known as thought. (Continued…)
Drexel Survivor
posted 4/22/09 @ 2:01 AM EST
Lonnie,
Thank you for continuing to raise campus awareness about sexual assault. You gave some good advice about ways to help survivors and speak out against rape. (Continued…)
Sid
posted 4/23/09 @ 1:21 AM EST
Lonnie, your article is filled with so much delusion about human nature and psychology that it would take me hours to write to explain why somebody would lie about rape. (Continued…)
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