17 year old imprisoned for failing to testify against her alleged rapist

stfuconservatives:

karnythia:

feminismoaqui:

sparkamovement:

trigger warning: rape, victim-blaming

In Sacramento, a county judge has taken “victim-blaming” to a whole new level, ordering that a rape victim be jailed while awaiting the trial of her rapist.

The 17-year-old had failed to appear for two previous court dates to testify against Frank William Rackley, 37, who is accused of abducting and raping her and is believed to be a serial rapist. Judge Lawrence Brown claimed to be “terribly sorry” about the position the young woman is in, but his sympathy didn’t stop him from ordering that she remain in a juvenile detention center until April 23, Rackley’s next trial date.

Rape trials are notoriously traumatic for victims; frequently, the attempts to discredit a rape victim’s credibility and character leads her to feel that she is actually the one on trial. Victims’ fear of further violations they will receive at the hands of the justice system—from inappropriate and irrelevant questions about their sexual histories to accusations that they are simply lying—is undoubtedly one of the many reasons why rape is already one of the most underreported crimes, with only 46 percent reported to police and only a small fraction of those ultimately going to trial. And it is highly likely that fear is precisely what prevented this young victim from showing up for two previous court dates. But rather than striving to create an environment in which she could testify comfortably and safely, Judge Brown decided to take punitive action against her instead.

An effective way to make women to continue afraid to report rape and testify against their abusers.

So, you’re going to imprison her & increase her risk of being re-assaulted & add to her trauma just in case a jury actually convicts even though you’ve just handed his lawyers a perfect way to refute her testimony by saying it was coerced & thus untrustworthy and that’s before we get into the incredibly low conviction rates for rape even without the way she’s been treated…I need to go outside. BECAUSE THIS IS WHY WE DON’T REPORT IT! The system will hurt a victim just as much (if not more) as the assailant.

Disgusting. This is why women have to treat men like every one is a potential rapist. Because a patriarchal justice system puts US on trial for being victims, and is willing to imprison us in the name of “justice.” Ugh. -Jess