As I logged on today, I noticed that AOL is taking a poll. The question was:
Should rape accusers be named in the media?
These are the results of the poll so far:
YES 57% 844,879
NO 32% 473,127
NOT SURE 10% 149,163
I'm a Libra. I don't tend to put much faith into zodiac signs as a way of life, but I can almost always see two sides to the issue. On one hand, I believe that the person who has been accused of a crime has the right to face his accuser in court. Most court cases are open to the public, so in most cases, the accuser's name could be made public.
On the other hand, I realize that by publicizing the accuser's name, she will go through hell repeatedly at the hands of the general public, and she may choose not to bring her case to court to avoid the publicity.
A woman who makes an unfounded accusation might think twice about making the claim if her name is going to be plastered over the newspapers. But, if she is evil enough to make a false claim, she may not care whether she gets the publicity, as long as she makes a bundle off the guy.
My gut feeling on this is that we have not come far enough in dealing with the victims of rape to publish their names in the media. Most women are so devastated by the assault that they will have a difficult time recovering, without having what happened to them paraded in public. We ask them to take the stand, relive the experience, and face their accuser, while a defense attorney suggests that they "asked for it." They shouldn't have their reputation trashed in the media, simply because they are the victim of a heinous crime.
Our laws are devised by men. Most of those men feel that rape is a minor crime. Frequently, the sentence is a couple of years or much less. When men come to understand that the penalties need to be much more severe, perhaps we could discuss making the name of the accuser public.
Comments (2)
Good thoughts Buffy.
Bear in mind that a number of women who have been raped do not report the crime for fear of retaliation by their offender in the future. Also, sheer embarrassment about the rape itself and not wanting others to know that it happened to them. For these reasons alone, I feel that if things get to the stage where it is decided that the names of the accusers in rape cases are made public, that it should be a choice that is given to the woman to make. If she is in agreement with having her identity revealed, then fine. Otherwise, no.
I'm male, I agree that most of the lawmakers are male. I'm not sure that I agree that most men see rape as a minor offense. I for one feel that the penalties are not stringent enough for the crime of rape. But, that's just me, I could be wrong.
Posted by Dr. D. | July 28, 2003 9:33 PM
Posted on July 28, 2003 21:33
That's a good alternative, Dr. D.
I think you may be in good company. I know several other men who agree with you that the penalties for rape should be more stringent.
Posted by Buffy | July 29, 2003 9:04 AM
Posted on July 29, 2003 09:04