https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/23/us/why-i-didnt-report-assault-stories.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article®ion=Footer
After the assault allegations against Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump questioned the severity of Ford’s attack and whether or not she may have been exaggerating. He claims that if the attack was as bad as she claims it was, her or her parents would have reported it sooner. In response, survivors of abuse have come out with a new hashtag, #WhyIDidntReport, to rally that it is often difficult to tell their story. I understand where these women are coming from because trauma is often hard to process and tell others about. The start of the #MeToo movement has encouraged women to come forward with their stories despite their fears, traumas, shame, and anger that comes with the thought of their abuse; this is uplifting considering that in the past, women often were not given a voice.
Discussion Questions:
Was Trump going out of line for making such claims?
Is it understandable as to why these women find it hard to share their stories right away?
How has the #MeToo movement helped women finally come forward and deal with their abuse?
Trump's claims that she would've reported it earlier if it "was actually that bad" demonstrates a complete lack of understanding for the severity of sexual assault. It is clear that he (and many others who doubt Dr. Ford's allegations) have not gone through such a trauma. For victims, it takes several years to even come out with their experience to a trusted loved one or therapist. With this said, it can not be expected that thy wold be ready to announce it to the public at that time. One of the reasons women take so long to share their story comes from internal feelings of shame and other emotions. While they are the victims, they often feel that they are in some way to blame; and society only enhances that idea. Women also hesitate to share their experience because there is a pattern of 'blaming the victim' rather than the assaulter. Women are asked questions that range from "what were you wearing" to even more offensive "are you sure that this isn't a response from you being rejected?" (Anita Hill experienced this question in a hearing very similar to Ford's in the 90s). The fact that Dr. Ford or any other victim decided to share their story years later should not in any way change the validity of her accusation.
ReplyDeleteTrump, as a president, was definitely out of line for making such claims for several reasons. One, Trump should not make accusations or claims like he did unless he has evidence to back it up which he does not. Two, Trump in saying what he said completely undermines the severity of sexual assault as Rebecca said. Three, as a president he should know (but from past evidence clearly does not) how to act professionally with such controversial and sensitive topics. If Trump was actually sensible and intelligent enough to address the situation well, then he would’ve known that making the comment he did about the case is not only disrespectful, but just overall disgusting. What many people fail to understand is how difficult and traumatizing it can be for women to come forward and share/report their stories. Sexual assault is not natural or normal and any victim will inevitably feel some sort of insecurity, vulnerability, and fear. These emotions and afterthoughts are big factors into why stories aren’t always shared right away. Especially with all the hate in our world today, it is becoming harder and harder for people to feel comfortable sharing something so personal. In response to this issue, the #metoo movement has done a great job in encouraging more brave women to come out with their stories. While it doesn’t completely solve the issue, it is definitely instilling more confidence in women around the world which is something that should be done more often.
ReplyDeleteTrump's claims were completely out of line, since he is reporting and judging a situation that he could not possibly know anything about. He states that because women did not immediately report their abuse, it could not have possibly been as bad as they described it to be. By doing this, Trump is trying to downplay the severity and appropriate consequences of sexual assault. After being assaulted, many women are faced with immense trauma that can take more than a lifetime to accept or get rid of. However, by responding to this challenge by underestimating the severity of their experience, President Trump is disrespecting the strength of these women. Many try to overcome the trauma following sexual assault on their own, or with the help of loved ones or a therapist. Coming forward to the public like Dr. Ford is a very big deal because the victim is forced to relive an experience that they had wanted to repress. Having said this, I think it is completely understandable as to why assaulted women do not come forward right away, especially since with people like Trump in power, their stories could be ignored or even worse, claimed as lies for attention. Instead of being met with criticism and doubt, the allegations made by women such as Dr. Ford should be taken seriously, for they a clear display of courage after many years of suffering.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think he was out of line. It's valid point, I can understand why women wouldn't want to come out, but this is all too convenient of a time for her to make the accusation.
ReplyDeleteIt is understandable, however, they can't ever expect change, if they never report report it at all, or if they wait to long and there's not enough evidence, like any crime, nothing is going to happen.
It's made it so that men are now publicly shamed when they commit an act of sexual misconduct. This gives women more power to speak out against the person that violated them.
The fact that some men are finally facing repercussions for their assault of women is a good thing, and I believe that rapists can and should be "publicly shamed" for their actions. While it is understandable that the timing of these allegations could coincide with some other motive, many people diminish the courage of many of the victims who come forward and demean them for their "poor timing," when most cannot imagine what emotional trauma the assault has caused.
DeleteIt's actually not a "convenient time" for Dr. Ford. She didn't even want to be identified as the victim. She explicitly said in her testimony that she didn't want to be there, but she felt it was her "civic duty" to inform the American people on the character of Kavanaugh. I applaud her courage to speak the truth about him, despite how heavily it has impacted her life and her children. If he weren't about to be appointed to the highest court in the state, and be ruling on issues regarding woman's rights, this may not have come up. But it is essential that the true nature of his character is known.
DeleteI do believe that Trump questioning the severity of Ford's attack was out of line because it disrespects the trauma that she has gone through along with that of other victims. As for the community of survivors as a whole, it is understandable why they would not come out with their experiences. For a sexual assault victim, reporting your attack often means facing stigma. Some victims who have come forward have been forced to move schools, quit their jobs, and had trouble in their datings lives. There is little to no incentive to come forward with an allegation unless their is definitive proof of a crime. The #MeToo movement has served an important purpose in bringing awareness to the issue of sexual assault which for the most part has been not been discussed prior to the movement.
ReplyDeleteI also do think that Trump was out of line for attempting to brush aside the allegations as in questioning why they weren't brought about sooner. In this, he is not recognizing all the factors that comes into coming forward and the entire emotional distress that this sort of situation causes. Such as in this case, distressing memories and thoughts were brought to the surface. It is hard to report such a situation immediately because having such a distressing situation occur recently for a person is completly draining and horrible to have to relive. In many situations, it's understand why people will try to forget instead of having to face all the backlash and be reminded or questioned about the situation time and time again. He hasn't experienced trauma like sexual assault, so him assuming that it should've been and could've been brought about sooner, is disrespectful. I think that the MeToo Movement has tried to minimize some of the stigmas brought about when reporting sexual assault, although many are still present. Yet overall, the movement has made more women supportive of other women and more likely to back them up and support them in their fight for justice. Although it is inevitable that women, such as in this case especially with such a high profile person, will face backlash and hardship, the movement offers some comfort in that other people will be supportive of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Trump's claim was completely and utterly out of line and unfortunately, he isn't the only one that thinks this. It is ridiculous that people still have this antiquated look on this issue. I was just with a liberal adult last week who was questioning Ford's reliability. He quickly changed his mind when I explained to him some of the many reasons that women don't come out and report their assault. I know someone who still hasn't reported an assault. There is so much shame in this country about this topic and while the "innocent till proven guilty" theory is good for other crimes, it has created a culture that blames the victim instead of the criminal in sexual assault crimes. Yes, the #MeToo movement helped a little bit, but there are still so many people who don't care about the masses of women and men who have been violated. It can be someone that you are closest to that doesn't even believe you about the assault. There are people who have to move away from their childhood homes because they reported their assault, but no one believed him or her and bullied him or her. There is so much freaking stigma, that of course these victims don't come out and say it. They are afraid of being tossed aside from society. Sometimes, they don't even realize that it was assault until months later. I'm glad that the #MeToo movement and the #WhyIDidntReport movement has come out. It makes victims feel less alone, but I just don't think it will ever have much of an impact on people who are set in their ways. This is a messed up society where I'm not sure if there will ever be true liberation for women or any victim of sexual assault.
ReplyDeleteI think Trump's comments were completely out of line. These accusations are exactly why people don't report sexual assault because of backlash like this where people don't believe them. It is totally understandable that women are afraid of coming out about their sexual assault stories because of fear or trauma or more. In today's society, when a woman comes out as a victim of sexual assault they are looked as a hero or getting justice, they are looked down at and getting pity. By reporting this they might be getting justice, but they are also getting many negative connotations and assumptions on them, like people saying they are lying and denying their experience. Many people also don't realize they were sexually assaulted because they were in a relationship where they were not aware because they were convinced it was something else. I think that the #MeToo movement and the #WhyIDidn'tReport movement has definitely helped women come out and share their stories. This creates a sense of community that these women or men are not alone. It fights the stigma of reporting sexual assault, making it so that the women reporting the case are not the ones getting the backlash. There are so many people in today's society are afraid of speaking up, but these movements are changing it so that people feel more safe and supported in a time that will definitely bring back trauma or strong emotion, but these make it so they aren't facing it alone.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand the women who didn't share their stories because it is much easier said than done. Sexual assault it incredibly traumatic, so women often just want to forget about the assault, so by sharing their story, it will bring back memories of the pain they endured. Moreover, Trump was way out of line to suggest that she should have reported it. Each woman has a different experience, but Trump can relate to none of them as a cis-gender white male. He's likely never been sexually assaulted, so the least he could do is to put himself in Ford's shoes and try to understand why she didn't report. This movement is very powerful to allow for the spread of awareness about the prevalence of sexual harassment and for more ignorant people (like Trump) to empathize with the women.
ReplyDeleteI believe Trumps comment were a bit out of line because he doesn't know exactly what occurred with those women and Kavanaugh, so he shouldn't be making accusations. However, I do believe the women should've taken action while Kavanaugh was campaigning to be elected rather then when he is actually about to get appointed. From a citizens perspective, it can be seen as a final plea from the Democrats to not have a Republican Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteI think Trump's comment was out of line because it disrespects the millions of people who are assaulted but scared if their predator would be convicted. As our president, he should not post harmful posts to the people, even though he does on a daily. Only the victim and assaulter know the truth of the story, so how can he assume either want to step about the incident. For some, it could be embarrassing or hurtful.
ReplyDelete