#MeToo should support women who allege sexual assault but at the same time encourage the use of analytical thinking and investigation to assess the truthfulness of the claims it chooses to champion. No, this is not code for going back to the way things were — when the bar to taking women’s allegations seriously was placed inches above reasonable reach. Sexual assault is not a women’s problem. It’s a crime and men should be committed to securing justice in the same way that they are when their neighbor is robbed.
As investigations unfold, the public must remain mindful of the hurdles women face in coming forward with an assault allegation. Women often experience shame, fear and degradation when reporting a sexual assault. Being a victim of rape is not the same as being the victim of credit card fraud.
Finally, believing one allegation of sexual assault and not another does not make someone a hypocrite. The condescending trope that one sexual assault is the same as every other is the stuff that allowed men to shrug their shoulders at legitimate allegations for decades.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member