#WhyIDidntReport: Sexual Assault Victims React to Trump's Attack on Ford
In a scene that felt particularly Gileadean, Trump was interviewed by his late-night confidant and biggest cheerleader Sean Hannity in front of a braying audience of adoring supporters on Fox News on Thursday night.
Hannity began the interview, in places inaudible because of how loud the crowd was cheering, by joshing “wave to the fake news media” and pointing at the press pool. He then asked Trump about Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings and the sexual assault allegations made against him.
In front of his mob, Trump cast aspersions on Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused the supreme court nominee of holding her down, forcing himself on to her and covering her mouth to stop her screaming.
“He’s an outstanding person, and frankly, Sean, to see what’s going is very, very sad. You say, why didn’t somebody call the FBI 36 years ago? You could also say, when did this all happen? What’s going on? To take a man like this and besmirch [his name],” he said in an attack on Ford’s claims, before adding: “Now, with that being said, let her have her say and let’s see how it all works out.”Trump tweeted similar sentiments on the same day, sparking people to share their stories of why they didn’t report sexual crimes against them, under the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport. At the time of writing, so many people had posted stories that the hashtag was number one in the US.
The stories shared speak of powerlessness, a fear of not being believed, inexcusable reactions from people who were told, a failure of law enforcement to investigate crimes, as well as crippling psychological conditions that arose following assault.
Sexual crime statistics, particularly of unreported crimes, are by nature difficult to collect. However, the Department of Justice, based on data from its 2015 National Crime Victimization Survey, estimates that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police.
The top reason given for not reporting a sexual crime was the fear of retaliation. The president casting aspersions on a woman’s sexual assault claim in front of a roaring horde on national television is unlikely to change that.
• In the US, the national sexual assault hotline is 1-800-656-HOPE and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 and the domestic violence helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org
Sam Wolfson is a journalist who writes mostly about music for the national media and a slew of popular culture mags and sites
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