Sexual assault is an issue which falls on deaf ears, and it should not. Surviving sexual assault or rape is something many silently suffer through.
You are suddenly afraid to trust anyone, even those closest to you. You jump out of your skin when there is a light tap on your shoulder. Sometimes you are scared to even leave your house. You can lose friends and hurt relationships, just from one action you did not do. All these mundane events carry a heavy impact, an impact victims silently take on their own.
It takes tremendous bravery to admit you were sexually assaulted, and even more to publicly announce it. It is even more terrifying when your assaulter is a public figure everyone knows and trusts.
We see a lot of instances where powerful men are accused of these atrocious acts, yet they get away with it because they can afford lawyers who plead their cases well – even if the woman is also famous. Throw a stone in Hollywood, and you will see what I mean.
Sexual assault is the only serious crime where the victim’s statement may not even matter.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, research shows only two to 10 percent of reported sexual assaults are false, and the higher number from this percentage comes from a misunderstanding of what police departments define as sexual assault.
This means 90 to 98 percent of reported sexual assaults are not false, yet still a majority of the accused do not even make it into the prison system.
However, on Jan. 24, a collection of loud voices helped serve justice to a monstrous man who sexually assaulted over 100 women.
According to SB Nation’s James Dator, Larry Nassar, former doctor of the U.S. Gymnastics and Michigan State University’s gymnastic team was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for seven accounts of criminal sexual assault. He will begin to serve these years after he completes an additional 60 years for child pornography.
Emily Singer for Mic tweeted Judge Rosemarie Aquilina’s words to Nassar as she passed his sentence. She is quoted saying, “It is my honor and privilege to sentence you, because sir, you do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again.”
Justice was served.
While I am elated an absolutely despicable human being finally got what he had coming, he was able to accumulate a victim list of over 140 women within almost 30 years before he was stopped. He first assaulted a 12 year-old girl in 1992, yet this did not come to light until 2017.
It took a woman 25 years to speak out about a sexual assault that happened to her when she was just a girl. She finally found it in herself to speak about the unspeakable acts she survived as a child, but it took so long for her to finally gain the courage to do this.
This is not her failure; in fact, this is a victory for her.
This is a failure of our justice system and the way society views victims of sexual crimes. Everyone loves watching “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” but how many people in reality are actually likely to side with the victim? How many people are going to be Olivia Benson?
Most people who come forward about their assaults have a lot of the blame placed on them. This is not fair in any sense. Many are told they brought their assault onto themselves by what they were wearing, who they were or were not with, what they were doing at the time, and where they were.
The reality of life is some people are awful and are going to commit horrible acts, because honestly, they are just screwed up. Most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. This was definitely the case with Nassar, as he was a trusted and world-renowned doctor recommended for these girls at Michigan State and the U.S. Gymnastics program. He abused his power, which is exactly what sexual crimes boil down to.
The attacker simply wants to assert their power over their victim.
As stated earlier, the number of false accusers is often low, and as far as reported crimes, one of the most under-reported crimes is sexual assault. This can be viewed when you look at officially reported crimes and self-reported crimes (crimes that went unreported, but data is still collected on). The numbers almost double when you look at reported cases versus victims of sexually-based offenses – the Uniform Crime Report versus the National Crime Victimization Survey.
According to the criminal justice statistics by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, even when sexual assaults are reported, “the vast majority of perpetrators will not go to jail or prison,” and they are less likely to serve time than any other crime. Keep in mind, this is only what is reported.
It should not have taken so long for these survivors to speak out, but there is a stigma society has about being a victim. Sadly, there is the high chance your attacker will not even make it to jail, let alone prison. Survivors have been violated in the most inhumane way, yet they are pressured to keep silent while they suffer.
I am beyond elated and supportive of the brave women who came forward to take down Nassar. However, it is time we start believing victims and creating a support system for them instead of blaming them. It is crucial we support these victims, so we can stop serial rapists like Nassar before they go too far and hurt over 100 people in less than 30 years.
It is 2018. It is time to believe and support sexual assault victims.
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Justice has finally been served to a monstrous man
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