by Megan Sundance
MacGregor
In rape culture the
victim is suspect not the perpetrator. It is common to require the victim to
prove the crime was not her/his fault. This
concept alone is insane. Yet rape victims must often prove they are not lying
and generally report to officers not skilled in recording rape claims.
When one survives a
traumatic event weather it is something like being fired or something like
surviving rape the trauma affects the ability to recall information. This takes
time to process the information, often weeks for everything to fall into place.
Yet most law enforcement are not trained in this area or simply disregard this
fact. The result is an inconsistent story is seen as lying rather than a victim
processing what just happened.
What if victims of other
crimes were treated like rape victims? For example, a victim of armed
robbery wants to file a report at the local police station. His clothes are
disheveled and he has a large swollen wound on the side of his head. Blood
dried on the side of his face. He approaches the counter.
“I need to report a
robbery.” He says patting the side of his head with a hanky he looks to see if
the blood has dried. An officer leads him to a desk and offers a seat. “So you
are saying you were robbed.” The officer asks.
“Yes.”
“Where did this happen?”
“A few blocks away. Outside of Jacks Sports
Bar after closing.”
“You’ve been drinking?”
“Well ya it’s a sports bar. I was watching the
game.”
“With friends?”
“No it’s a work night I went alone.”
“What was the final score?”
“The what, the final um… I don’t remember.”
“Okay let’s see if I have the gist. You went
to a bar alone to watch the game. You have drunk so much you can’t remember the
score. I can plainly see you are wearing an expensive suit. So people know
you have money. Clearly you were asking for it. What do you think was
going to happen dressed like that and drunk this time of night?”
“What? Hey I was robbed at gun point!”
“So you say. When did you say this happened
again?
“Late, midnight maybe.”
“You said at closing before. Your story keeps
changing.”
“I did?”
“How’d you get the wound on the side of your head?”
“He hit me with his gun before leaving.”
“You just let him hit you. A big guy like you. You expect me to believe this?”
“What the hell? He took my fucking wallet!”
“Now that’s your claim and you were under the
influence, alone wearing an expensive suit late at night. You can’t even
remember the score of the game. Know what I think? I think you got drunk,
misplaced your wallet and fell down when they kicked you out. You don’t want to
have to admit how you got the injury at work, I bet you have a little drinking problem don’t you and this would be grounds to fire you. So you came here to
file a false report."
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Some jerk
took my wallet at gun point and pistol whipped me for his trouble!”
“You need to settle down. Let’s say for sake
of argument I believe you. And truth be told I am nowhere near believing you,
but for sake of argument let’s say you are telling the truth. Do you have his
name?”
“His name? He’s an armed robber I didn’t exchange pleasantries with the man. What the hell?”
“I see, you don’t have his name so we can’t get his side of it. That is convenient.”
“Are you kidding me! His side?”
“There are always two sides to these kinds of
things. And let’s be honest. You don’t act like you were really robbed.”
“Are you fucking kidding me!? “
“I told you to settle down. I won’t tell you again!”
“You know what, fuck this, fuck you, fuck this whole thing, I’m out of here!” He stands to walk out.
“Hey you are not going anywhere. You are under
arrest for making a false report.”
Yes, this does
happen...far too much. The
links below will bring up two experiences. One
of the reasons so many sexual assaults go unreported is the fear no one will
believe the victim or worse punish the victim for false report.
The responsibility for rape does not fall upon what you wear,
where you go, or even if you were intoxicated or the time. The responsibility
for rape rests entirely on the rapist. I wonder how many would be shocked to
find one is more likely to be raped in the safety of her/his own home by
someone she/he knows than anyplace else.
Wrongly charged with making a false report:
http://forums.officer.com/t163766/
Wrongly charged with making a false report:
