Rape/Sexual Assault Culture

There are some women who think women should behave in a certain way when around other people, males in particular, and that when they don't, they are the ones to blame for violating the (expected) norm. And there are a number of reasons for that. I had a girl in my class once, when we were talking about this subject - I think it was regarding the Stubenville FUBAR - who said that if a girls gets drunk at a party, it means she wants to have sex and should expect guys to treat her like that (in other words, she was saying that girls should expect to get raped). The entire class went into stunned silence. In part because we all immediately knew she was speaking from experience. And I think she figured that out quite quickly, too.

 

Haven't been following this closely, but knew about the situation and the subsequent trial - Taylor Swift.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40937429

I had always assumed that she would win, as much as it was because she has real influence and power as to the facts surround the case. Further, I have come across stories that indicate she is that driven person, the one who sleeps 3 hours a night, who is obsessed with making things in her career/life better. I've met a few people like that, not the driven to be wealthy, the driven to get better in what ever they are working on. It happens that in her case, it will mean making a shit load more money, but to me, that is a benefit of her drive, not the motive behind it.

Anyway, to the trial. For those not aware, she accused a dj somewhere of grabbing her butt during a photo shoot leading into some event (during the actual picture taking). He denied it, obviously. As I indicated, Swift won. But there is more than just a victory...

She refused to back down

The trial showed how some defence lawyers try to undermine the credibility of an alleged victim.

But some of the most potent moments occurred when Taylor Swift refused to let that happen.

At one point, rejecting an accusation that she had misidentified Mueller, she said: "I'm not going to allow you or your client to say I am to blame."

When asked why a photo taken at the time of the alleged incident does not show the front of her skirt ruffled, she bluntly responded: "Because my ass is located on the back of my body."

At another moment, she said: "I know exactly who did this. It is not alleged. It is a fact.

"You can ask me a million questions about it and I'm never going to say anything different."

Her testimony drew praise, with Slate magazine's Christina Cauterucci describing it as "sharp, gutsy and satisfying".

"For young fans of Swift's, hearing a beloved artist speak candidly about the emotional damage of sexual assault and stand up to a courtroom of men trying to prove her wrong could be a formative moment for their developing ideas of gender, sex, and accountability," she wrote.​

For all those who are not long time readers of this thread, a reminder of why that testimony was important:

(from the same article)

The 2013 incident only became public in 2015 when radio personality David Mueller- who lost his job after Ms Swift's team reported the groping claim to his radio station - filed a defamation lawsuit against Ms Swift.

With the incident out in the open, Ms Swift filed a countersuit alleging sexual assault - which she has just won.

In court, Taylor Swift's mother, Andrea Swift, said she did not go to police when her daughter first told her she had been groped because: "I did not want this event to define her life."

"I did not want her to have to live through the endless memes and gifs that tabloid media and internet trolls decided to come up with - doctoring the pictures… and making her relive this awful moment over and over again," she said.

Ms Swift's lawyer said the star had wanted to keep the situation "discreet and quiet and confidential".

But by not reporting the alleged groping to authorities in the first place, the pop superstar was responding in the same way that thousands of American women do every year.

According to RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organisation in the United States, two out of three sexual assaults in the country go unreported.

The top three reasons for people not doing so are fearing retaliation, not believing the police will help and considering it to be a "personal matter".

Taylor Swift's reasons for not going to the police, as told by her mother, who is part of her management team, are revealing. The case highlights how some victims fear being ridiculed, not being believed or not being taken seriously after reporting an alleged sexual assault.​

The bold is notable because Swift is known for writing song about gossip about her and that she confronts negative publicity (think Shake It Off). That is suggests the initial reason was to keep quiet because of the typical reaction to such an accusations by those not being sexually assaulted.

Of course, Swift also acknowledges her place, which is also is noteworthy:

"I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this," she said in a statement following the verdict.

"My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard."​

Of course, I'm going back to point 2 of the article (as quoted above: "She refused to back down.") That reminds me of the recent quote by our not-so-worthy Majority Leader in the Senate who said it was wrong for a female to persist...to refuse to back down.

 

I think her point is that it was not about money, or revenge, it was about standing up against what was wrong.