Sounds like we're mostly saying the same thing. Nuance is great. Blacklisting of women and victim shaming is a real tragedy indeed.
Some stats from the
Department of Justice Canada:
-88% of sexual assault survivors are women.
-Only 5% of sexual assaults are reported.
-One of the most commonly stated reasons: they didn't think they would be believed
-Two thirds of survivors in the study said they were not confident in the police/court/justice system.
-Of the cases that do go to trial, only 42% result in a finding of guilt.
-It is a gendered issue. It is absolutely fair to focus on women victims.
-We should empower women to speak up. We should support them, hear them, and you know, believe them. Is it that crazy to ask? When Anna Kane speaks up about being sexually abused in gory detail, at the very least, show some sympathy. It boggles my mind that many people's first instinct is to post reasons why they don't believe her, or why she is a flawed person. It's no wonder more victims don't speak out. I don't think those people are uncapable of sympathy, but I think it is a reflection of toxic misogyny in our society. We can do better.
-There needs to be serious justice reform. When women are brave enough to speak up and actually face their abuser in court, do you really believe that 58% of women are "lying"? Our justice system is failing sexual assault survivors. It is protecting sexual predators. "Taking claims seriously and investigating" isn't cutting it right now. Something needs to change.
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Again, a good first step is to believe women when they speak up about sexual abuse. That applies to friends, colleagues, police officers, and possibly even the courts. If our collective society put more emphasis on supporting victims and believing women, a lot of positive change would arise.