A group of editors at The Daily received an email titled ?List of Rapists at UW? late last Wednesday. A few days later, we reported on the a website titled ?Make them scared UW,? a list that allows users to accuse people of sexual assault and harassment in the UW community without publicly disclosing their own identity.
The Daily covered the legal ramifications in our article, but now we feel the need to talk about the cultural and political atmosphere that brought us here. Widely condemned, this website has been smeared across Fox News, The Daily Mail, Reddit, and 4chan, making its way from anonymous flyers posted around campus to the darkest corners of internet forums and comment sections.
The editorial board cannot justify the actions of the list?s creators. It completely circumvents due process and trivializes the seriousness with which accusations ought to be received. It ends up lending more credit to the argument that even truthful accusations should be viewed with suspicion and as part of a vengeful agenda, not one that seeks justice. However, it isn?t hard to imagine the feelings of helplessness that went into the creation of and contribution to this list. Despite #MeToo, it seems things haven?t really changed.
Let us remember that almost no one is falsely accused of rape when it is reported through the conventional system. One New York magazine article speculated that false accusations occur at a rate of not 5 percent, as often reported, but closer to a rate of 0.005 percent. Studies done on college students found that, at most, 90 percent of those assaulted do not file police reports. Of those, 5 percent may represent false accusations, leaving us with a very real 99.5 percent of allegations awaiting justice.
However, this could be because only six out of 1,000 perpetrators actually go to jail, despite the arduous and often painful process of reporting sexual assault, which makes a false accusation a shout into the void.
That?s old news, though. Survivors have felt backed into a corner for a long time. But when the Senate is hours away from confirming an alleged sexual assaulter to the highest court in the land, and when our president mocks a survivor?s painful testimony to a crowd of cheering supporters, this list reflects the helplessness that survivors can?t help but feel.
Last spring, The Daily reported on how sexual assault is treated in the Greek system and found that fraternities are not mandated reporters. While they may drop accused members from their house, the accused can continue to attend the university, and may even find their way into another fraternity?s pledge class. Only four fraternities participated in Green Dot sexual assault training last year.
Correspondence with the creators of the site claimed that there were both male and female moderators who spoke candidly with us about the frustration that drove them to create the site. They spoke of attackers and harassers in their lives who were able to walk free. They told us of their distrust in a system focused on helping victims work through their experiences, rather than holding perpetrators of sexual violence accountable.
These systems often offer the prospect of healing or justice, but neither is guaranteed and rarely is a survivor afforded both.
The catharsis of reporting an assaulter's name and filling out a quick online form that might bring public shaming to those who?ve caused you pain is easy to imagine. It?s simple, but unfortunately, that?s the problem. Accusing someone of a sex crime should not be totally effortless, because then the allegation loses its power. But the justice system is to blame for being ineffective and tedious. But accusations made through the proper channels, whether the university or the justice system, should be believed.
This story previously misstated that the New York magazine article speculated that 99.995 percent of rape allegations are true allegations. The real number is 99.5 percent and this article was updated to reflect that on Oct. 11.
Reply With Quote