A few weeks ago, I wrote a post explaining why someone who had a crime committed against them, or was discriminated against in some way, might elect not to report it. Reporting crimes and mistreatment has costs--not the least of which is that there is often a risk of retaliation. And via Feministing, we have a textbook (and outrageous) case of just that happening in the US Air Force, which is trying a woman with "committing indecent acts" after she refused to testify after making a rape complaint against three men. The woman reported the rape, but after being harshly interrogated by a defense attorney without her own representation present (a violation of military policy), she decided not to testify in the case.
So the Air Force turned around and decided to charge her instead. And here is the unbelievable part (you thought I hadn't gotten there yet)--the Air Force granted immunity to the three men from sexual assault prosecution to secure their testimony against her.
The Air Force has, for a long time, been battling allegations that it has a culture of sexual assault that, in practice if not in word, effectively condones. These actions tell us that this culture remains alive and well.
UPDATE: The Washington Post has picked up the story.
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1 comment:
Uh-mazing.
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