We must care for victims, not accuse them or castigate them. "Evidence" of sexual assault need not be absolute. Evidence can be circumstantial. It is VERY unlikely a girl or woman will lie about sexual assault and rape, statistics prove this as fact.
"Due process in the #MeToo era"
by Diane Dimond, she writes about legal issues. Oct 9, 2018
"The U.S. Constitution guarantees that no American citizen shall “be deprived of life, liberty or property” without being afforded due process of the law. It is one of the bedrocks of our legal system. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees every person, including those in the country illegally, “equal protection” under the law. And everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty."
More discussion.
"But if everyone is supposed to be treated equally under the law, shouldn’t we be open to the possibility that sometimes an accusing woman (or man) might be exaggerating? S/he might be covering up her/his own misbehavior by deflecting attention to the other party. Or s/he might be spitefully lying (one case in point: the false gang rape allegation made against members of the Duke University lacrosse team)."
Who is expressing the truth? Are the protestors exaggerating to achieve "there way?" I hope not because they will destroy #METOO credibility!
"“I was sexually assaulted, and nobody believed me!” one of the confrontational activists screamed as a CNN camera rolled. “I didn’t tell anyone, and you’re telling all women that they don’t matter!”
Here's a point to consider - get your story right lady, or you will not be trusted.
(Wait a minute. She either told people about her assault and no one believed her, or she didn’t tell anyone. Both cannot be true. But I digress.)"
No, you do not digress. YOU MADE YOUR POINT WITH THIS LAST POINT! Be truthful, give only facts, and do not lie! Of course, some will see a lack of detail recollection as possibly a lie.
"Women Do Lie About Being Sexually Assaulted, But Only to Themselves"
It took me two years of therapy to even begin to think about it.
By Vivian Ho Oct 2, 2018
https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a23552805/sexual-assault-survivors-therapy/
". . . [In the Kavenaugh he-said she-said event . . . ] . . . Ford spoke of how she had convinced herself that she should move on because she hadn’t actually been raped.
“What’s the problem?” my therapist had asked me. “What are you afraid of?”
“That I lie,” I said.
Ah, yes, the old "I lie" excuse. It’s a point that Kavanaugh’s supporters have jumped on in analyzing every tiny minutia of Dr. Blasey Ford’s account. It’s a version of what all the naysayers love to parrot when it comes to sexual assault allegations. “False reports!” they cry. “Women make false reports all the time!” (They don’t, at least not to the authorities—according to the National Violence Resource Center, only about 2 to 10 percent of all reports are found to be false.)
But the problem is this: We also do. We make false reports all the time. We lie constantly. We just do it to ourselves.
Were you ever molested? I don’t know. I don’t know, because even for the instances of sexual assault that I am sure of, I can’t remember large swaths of what actually happened. I made sure of that by drinking enough both before the assaults, and after. I rewrote them as silly party stories—“Remember that time I got so drunk I did that crazy thing?” I did it. Somebody didn’t do it to me. I am not a victim. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Keep it light, keep it pleasant. Don’t make a scene."
In case someone reading the above article thinks women lie about being assaulted, re-read it, THINK INTELLIGENTLY and MATUELY [for men, do not think with youyr "little head" donw there] and stop fooling yourself into believing women lie about sexual assault.
"The Real Meaning of Due Process in the #MeToo Era"
President Trump should know that also fairness requires that those reporting violence and harassment be fully heard.
Lenora Lapidus and Sandra Park Feb 15, 2018
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/due-process-metoo/553427/
"While the president’s remarks have caused a great deal of controversy in this #MeToo era, those accused of domestic violence and sexual assault are certainly entitled to due process. But they’re not the only ones. A commitment to due process can’t be selective; all Americans are entitled to have their rights defended. That’s the point the president seems to have missed."
More discussion to consider.
"Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault who request police assistance, particularly women of color, low-income women, and LGBT people, frequently are dismissed because law enforcement officers do not take their complaints seriously. Even with the enactment of rape shield laws, rape victims too often face questions from police about their sexual history, which are used to discredit them. Indeed, some women who filed sexual violence complaints with police have been charged with false reporting, only to be vindicated later, when the perpetrators went on to commit more assaults."
What is the "evidence" needed to prosecute an accused abuser? A lot of "She saids," and if there is only one victim, "He said" tends to be believed rather than the victim.
"Even in the current, more receptive #MeToo moment, the credibility of people alleging sexual harassment or assault seems to depend on corroboration by multiple victims or undeniable evidence. The allegations against Harvey Weinstein, for instance, became a matter of public outrage only when the number of women coming forward reached a breaking point; individuals who had previously alleged sexual assault by Weinstein had been ignored. In the case of Rob Porter, the White House aide, it is unknown whether he would have resigned had only one of his ex-wives alleged abuse or if the photo of one of the women with a black eye had not gone public. Indeed, the White House, which had hired him into a top security position, continued to defend him until it became untenable. Still today, the scale seems too often tipped in favor of “he said” until there are multiple “she saids.” This, too, is a due process problem."
More.
"The Trump administration’s selective approach to due process does not end there. In the span of a year, courts have found that this administration has violated the constitutional rights of foreign nationals, Muslims, transgender military service members, undocumented teenagers seeking abortion, and an American citizen detained without charges as an “enemy combatant.” Trump himself has a long record of making false allegations, ranging from the conspiracy theory that President Obama was born in Kenya to insisting the Central Park 5 were guilty of a rape they did not commit even after they were exonerated. When his crowds chanted “lock her up” in response to his attacks on Hillary Clinton, Trump said nothing about due process. Due process is a fundamental value in our constitutional system—the linchpin of fairness. But in discussing due process as a legal and cultural concept, we can’t be selective. If Trump cares about due process, he should be concerned not just for his friends accused of abusing their wives or girlfriends, but for all people, particularly those whose rights are being trampled by his administration."
Along with due process we need to ensure an INVESTIGATION. Find the best facts you can and THEN judge the person charged. Never disrespect the victim as they are roughly 90% honest about being abused or molested. There can be many reasons why the accused is not guilty, however.
"Testimony can be direct evidence or it can be circumstantial."
"Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need for any additional evidence or inference.
On its own, circumstantial evidence allows for more than one explanation. Different pieces of circumstantial evidence may be required, so that each corroborates the conclusions drawn from the others. Together, they may more strongly support one particular inference over another. An explanation involving circumstantial evidence becomes more likely once alternative explanations have been ruled out.
Circumstantial evidence allows a trier of fact to infer that a fact exists.[1] In criminal law, the inference is made by the trier of fact in order to support the truth of an assertion (of guilt or absence of guilt).
Testimony can be direct evidence or it can be circumstantial."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumstantial_evidence
