Originally posted by jazz lady
In our society, there is greater stigma attached to somebody who has been raped as opposed to being a victim of another crime. I've known several people who have been sexually assaulted. Those people knew when people were looking at them and whispering. A lot of malicious gossip gets spread and society tends to look askance at them like they are somehow dirty now.
I have a great compassion for people who have been in that situation. I very nearly was. It is hard to get past those feelings of violation and degradation without having it discussed publicly over and over again.
How would you react knowing John Doe was forcibly sodomized and see him every day at work? Or Jane Doe was raped and she's a relative of yours - your daughter, mother, sister? Or YOU were raped and it was been discussed by every one in your hometown and has made the local news? You release the name of rape victims and I will guarantee you will see a great drop in the number that get reported to the police.
What greater stigma are you talking about? A victim is a victim, if you have been harmed and want the wrong righted then you shouldn’t worry about what the gossip will be. On the other hand, if you are accused of a crime you should be able to bring just about anything that will help your case, as long as it is the truth.
The fact that some scummy lawyers attack the victim with innuendo and lies in their defense is what is screwed up in our society. When nonfactual information is brought forth by a lawyer and it is later proved to be a lie then an action should be taken against the lawyer that furthered the lie.
As to your hypothetical about John Doe, it wouldn’t impact me in the least as I wouldn’t be delving into another’s personal life anyway as it is none of my business. If it was a Jane Doe family member I would be right there beside them helping them to get through it and bringing the bastage to justice.
As we have seen in this high profile case names get released whether you want them to or not. We also know that they get released in not so high profile cases. I just don’t see the problem.
If we are going to drag the suppossedly innocent party through the media prior to them being proven guilty why shouldn't the victim be subjected to the same scrutiny?