I know it’s incredibly difficult, but if you are ever sexually assaulted, it’s crucial to report it as soon as possible.
Time erodes facts, witnesses, memory, and only hurts a victim’s chance to seek justice. Prosecuting a sexual predator early also ensures that no one else can be victimized.
100% this. I wish I had… I’m only confronting it psychologically now, 20 years later, and I have to face the fact there’s no chance of getting justice.
I don’t know if it helps or not for me to point this out (I hope it’s something that gives you some solace), but depending on the circumstances it’s also very difficult to go through an investigation and trial. Maybe things are better now, but 20 or 30 years back it was an ordeal for the victim. The “what were you wearing?” mentality was very prevalent within the male-dominated judiciary and they made it so hard on the victims that they often felt like they were on trial - and in many cases they still didn’t get justice either, despite their personal lives being dissected in front of a room full of strangers, some of whom were intent on falsely portraying them as promiscuous. After seeing this happen to a friend, I lost faith in the system to deliver justice. I don’t have a solution, but an adversarial system just doesn’t seem ideal for this kind of prosecution.
I know it’s incredibly difficult, but if you are ever sexually assaulted, it’s crucial to report it as soon as possible.
Time erodes facts, witnesses, memory, and only hurts a victim’s chance to seek justice. Prosecuting a sexual predator early also ensures that no one else can be victimized.
100% this. I wish I had… I’m only confronting it psychologically now, 20 years later, and I have to face the fact there’s no chance of getting justice.
I don’t know if it helps or not for me to point this out (I hope it’s something that gives you some solace), but depending on the circumstances it’s also very difficult to go through an investigation and trial. Maybe things are better now, but 20 or 30 years back it was an ordeal for the victim. The “what were you wearing?” mentality was very prevalent within the male-dominated judiciary and they made it so hard on the victims that they often felt like they were on trial - and in many cases they still didn’t get justice either, despite their personal lives being dissected in front of a room full of strangers, some of whom were intent on falsely portraying them as promiscuous. After seeing this happen to a friend, I lost faith in the system to deliver justice. I don’t have a solution, but an adversarial system just doesn’t seem ideal for this kind of prosecution.