Incredible!

Rape is one of the few crimes which leaves both the victim and the perpetrator equally responsible for the consequences. If someone breaks into your house, you probably aren't going to be afraid to call the police. Insurance will pay for the damages. No one is going to call you names or say you had it coming or mock you when the story appears in the newspaper. You probably won't be relentlessly interrogated or deposed in the criminal proceedings. And I've never heard of anyone who reported a burglary having their sexual history or character being called into question. And most certainly, if someone broke into my house, stole all of my shit, and I said to the cop in passing, "well, at least I'll get a big fat check from my renter's insurance," it wouldn't call a halt to the whole investigation.

When I first heard about Dominique Strauss-Kahn being arrested for alleged rape of a hotel maid, I was shocked by how swiftly law enforcement acted. I could not believe that such a powerful man would be arrested almost immediately after an allegation of sexual assault. The reason for this, as I read, was the extensive physical evidence of the crime. I cheered for the victim! How rare for a racially and economically marginalized woman to get to far in a complaint against a man of that stature. But then, suddenly, everything was about to be thrown out. "Despite the strong physical evidence", the victim's "credibility" was being called into question. Her credibility was being questioned (again, despite strong physical evidence) because she made a comment to her boyfriend that "there was money to be made."

I will also go ahead and throw in that one of the issues with her "credibility" that was found was that she made "false statements on her tax returns."

*cough*

I'll just let that one sink in.

Ladies, in case you ever get raped, God forbid, you better make sure you didn't fib on your taxes. I think I might have neglected to pay state taxes to New York for the summer I was a camp counselor in 2001. Also, one time when I was 16, I called in sick to work when I really wasn't. If a world leader ever assaults me, I can only hope they don't track down my manager from McDonalds. They'll know that one time I lied about something!

But back to this Strauss-Kahn guy. Strauss-Kahn, who was married, was actually at the hotel with his "secret girlfriend." This was caught on tape. Yet, for some reason, this blatant public show of infidelity in no way seemed to impact his character or his credibility in the case. So... if you're a woman, lying on your taxes makes you more likely to lie about someone trying to rape you. But if you're a man, screwing a woman who isn't your wife in a hotel makes you… well, rich and powerful. Duh. Oh, let's not forget about the reporter, Tristane Banon, (who, so far, has not been reported to have lied on her tax returns) who also came forward to say that Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her during an interview. After sleeping with her mother. He denied that he tried to rape her, but admits that he tried to kiss her. Yeah, this guy seems really credible.

Maybe the maid did say there was money to be made. I fail to I don't see how that in any way makes her lack credibility. I have never been the victim of a sexual assault, but if a fat, arrogant, rich old prick assaulted me while I was in the midst of doing my job (one of servitude, to make it all the more humiliating), I would want every red hot penny he had and not feel a shred of guilt about it. The maid was an immigrant from Guinea. I cannot speculate on what this woman's background was, but the lives of poor African women are often difficult and they are the most likely worldwide to suffer horrific sexual abuse throughout their childhoods. This woman may have been sexually assaulted before. She might have been well past the Oprah Winfrey Show emotional breakdown reaction that people seem to expect all victims of sexual abuse to exhibit. Maybe she was just really, really pissed off.

Why shouldn't she be? She has spent her entire life as one of the most marginalized people in society--a black immigrant hotel maid--and some rich fuck comes along and tries to rape her. While she is working. It almost seems worse than a predator in a dark alley… the powerful man who decides he will victimize those below him simply because he can probably get away with it. So why shouldn't she want to make money? Everyone else is. The media most certainly is making money.

In 1977, 20 year old Colleen Stan was kidnapped by a Cameron Hooker and his wife, Janice. She was kept for seven years as a sex slave, spending as many as 23 hours a day in a wood, coffin-like box under their waterbed. She experienced innumerable and unimaginable tortures before finally escaping. During her trial, she was told by the prosecutor not to sign any book deals because it would make it appear that she was only interested in money and that would help the defense. After the trial, the prosecutor published Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box. Of course, she did not share any of the profits. Eventually, Colleen Stan did write her own book, but it was not nearly as profitable or popular. So, this begs the question, why shouldn't victims of assault benefit from their experiences? Why should everyone else, including, often, the perpetrators, see the financial gain from these crimes? Personally, I think it should be illegal for any attorney to make money writing a book about a legal case. It's disgusting--and yet, strangely okay with people. Victims, I guess, are just supposed to go climb into a hole and cry for the rest of their lives and give unpaid interviews. After all, it's just sick to benefit off of such unspeakable suffering. Unless you're a lawyer or a journalist.

When the family of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson filed a civil suit against O.J. Simpson, seeking millions of dollars for their deaths, even though he had been acquitted criminally, no one called them extortionists or liars just out for a buck. Clearly, there is a problem here.

There is an endless list of rich, powerful men accused of everything from sexual harassment to full-out rape. And every single time it happens, it's because "the women are just out for their money." If you want to go on a witch hunt against extortionists, why not take a look at the thousands of people who file fraudulent insurance claims or make a career out of falling down in public and then suing. Most women don't report sexual assault. The statistics are pretty clear and consistent about that. It is even more traumatic to report a sexual assault against someone rich, famous and respected because the gauntlet of public humiliation is usually just as traumatic as the event itself. I have no doubt that countless women have been assaulted by rich and powerful men and have not reported these events simply because they didn't want to deal with the consequences. I can't honestly say that I would report it either. Tristane Banon didn't, and now she, too, is being called a liar. Right. Because she's just putting herself through all of this so that more people will read her blog, or something. Right.

You can't give a victim of a crime back their dignity, but I don't blame any victim, including the hotel maid, for wanting some sort of compensation.