The past weeks have seen several incidences of sexual assault in Bloomington, a phenomenon really hard to come to terms with, especially in a town that prides itself on safety and tolerance. The ways in which these events are difficult to acknowledge can be exemplified in the local media, and in the ways the stories are covered. The language used in the HT’s September 8th article about the abduction and sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman presents some issues. In the piece the events are presented as something the woman SAID to have happened, not as fact, “The woman said several men came from behind and carried her to a small gray vehicle. She said she was driven to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted…The student said she was then driven back to where she had been abducted…”
This way of writing adds to the sense that what happened to her is uncertain, with the doubt instilled by the continual reiteration that she SAID it happened, instead of simply that it did happen. The skepticism is openly found in the online comments left by readers in which several people attack the woman and express their disbelief the truthfulness of the events.
It is really disappointing and sad to see how stereotypical these reactions are, and how profoundly they are imbedded in our culture. One reader writes, “This story the lady is saying does not make sense…Too many things that don’t make sense. We have to wonder if she did something and now is regretting doing it. this is her cover story to prevent her from getting in trouble with family or others”, another, “I hate to doubt the accuser in cases such as these, but… I’ll be very surprised if the story isn’t recanted in the next week. It’s just that time of year for people away from home for the first time Remember the last one, it was two men in a van, she even had detailed descriptions of them both. Turned out to be a false report”. I find these responses very alarming.
Again and again survivors are blamed for what happened to them, and in addition accused of having done something wrong. In the rare cases in which sexual assault reports are recanted they are taken as exemplary and generalized. It has been proven over and over that sexual crimes are some of the least reported, and even then false reporting is estimated of only occur in around 3% of cases. Even if a woman decides to recant her accusations it does not mean the sexual assault did not occur. There are many reasons why this decision could be made: it could be because of fear of retaliation or because of the social shame still encountered by survivors. The legal procedure in sexual assault cases is long, emotionally taxing and rarely fruitful. It is a personal decision to report or decide not to, depending on the way in which a person feels the most helpful for their healing. Survivors should be supported in their decision-making process and recovery.
Another comment to the HT article reads, “Women can carry Mace brand (best) pepper spray/tear gas ($10 automotive section of Kmart, replace every year, use old as backup in car), stunner, 130db alarm, and cell phone w/gps for less than $100.” In this case another common stereotype surfaces, which puts on women the responsibility for protecting themselves from attacks, without addressing the causes for gender/ sexual violence, and resigning to the fact that such violence is a part of our society that can not be changed. In this case it is useful to point out that such devices are discouraged by self defense experts because they can be used against the person being attacked instead than to their advantage, and besides it should not be a woman’s burden to protect herself when the responsibility for violence lays solely in who perpetrates it.
I would like to ask, why is it that people feel the need to write such comments? Do men feel called in cause in sexual assault cases? Personally attacked? Do they feel questioned about the ways in which they interact with the women in their life? Sexual assault is extremely hard for our society to come to terms with. Women do not want to be scared and feel the need to distance themselves from such occurrences by doubting survivors and men feel partly responsible, powerless and become defensive. Especially in Bloomington, where safety is somewhat taken for granted. These are hard questions to ask, but they are necessary to create change. As long as survivors feel unsupported by their communities, and perpetrators feel safe under the curtain of skepticism furthered by such stereotypes, it means that we are participating in inaccurate and pervasive mythologies of sexual crimes, thus allowing gender violence to keep happening.
Chiara Galimberti
On Scene Advocate
Middle Way
