Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

HYPOCRISY AND PARTISANSHIP HURTS ALL VICTIMS

It is truly stunning that the same women's rights activists who were only too 
happy to condemn OJ Simpson's book deal - as well as Fox Television's decison 
to use it for "profit-news television" - went deafeningly silent when CBS 
news gave the Duke Lacrosse players tons of airtime to infect the jury pool 
with misinformation, incomplete information and outright false information 
about the integrity of the prosecution's case.

These same women's rights activists were also shockingly silent during the 
Kobe Bryant case when the victim was brutally assaulted by defense attorneys 
AND the mainstream media -- every single network AND cable news channel -- 
with outright lies and derogatory sexist insults that made money on the backs 
of all victimized women.

People associated with rape crisis centers in Colorado actually publicly 
advocated for Kobe Bryant's rights over the well-being of the victim, thus 
giving rocket-fueled credibility to some of the most vile myths and 
prejudices that make achieving justice so difficult for rape victims.   Shame 
on them.

Many dedicated victim advocates were outraged by the silence and/or support 
for Bryant from so-called "women's rights" types, and rape crisis centers and 
battered women's groups have rightly lost a lot of moral authority since 
then.  They are no longer seen as speaking for victims so much as speaking 
for an extreme political left-wing ideology - and anyone who works in this 
field knows the left is NOT a friend to women victims of violence -- nor is 
the right for that matter -- but the point is, the unveiling of political 
biases has helped dedicated anti-violence activists redirect their energy 
away from predictable groups like rape and battered women's programs.   In 
turn, the media is turning away from seeking the perspective of these 
traditional organzations on issues confronting victims of sexual and domestic 
violence as they are no longer perceived as "speaking for" victims or women 
as a class.  This is a good thing for the cause of truly dedicated victim 
advocates who care LESS about politics and MORE about the fact that the 
criminal justice system has GOT to do a better job dealing with sexual and 
domestic violence because women are at once disproportionately suffering harm 
AND being denied equal access to justice.

It's time for rape crisis and battered women's programs to either get out of 
the business of advocacy or rise above partisan politics and condemn ALL 
offenders -- not just the OJ Simpsons of the world.  This means openly 
criticizing ALL media that produce anti-victim "news" in every criminal case 
-- NOT just Fox. 

I suggest that they get out of the business of advocacy altogether because 
they clearly aren't standing up for all victims and they are not getting the 
job done.  Rape and battered women's programs have been around for thirty 
years and nothing much has changed in terms of reducing targeted violence or 
even increasing prosecution rates and punishments.   Their classic left-wing 
anti-prosecution political approach has failed and it's time to call it a 
day.  They are service providers - which is very important -- but they are 
clearly not advocates for change.  They should move on and let real advocates 
take over the reform work; advocates who will always put the interests of 
victims above partisan ideology. 

Wendy Murphy
New England School of Law
617-422-7410