Here's the infuriating thing about the Rolling Stone article: The Rolling Stone article was not simply about the one alleged incident. In fact, the overall tone of the article was supposed to address inaction by UVA in regards to rape on campus. Unfortunately, the author chose to focus on what she felt was the most sensational allegation for notoriety and page views and then completely destroyed her own credibility, and that of her article, by not doing the most rudimentary of fact checking. Now we're talking about one questionable allegation instead of the overall issue that should be addressed.
Whether one finds themselves believing any of the allegation put forth by "Jackie" or not, the meat of that article is irrefutable. Colleges, and I would say society in general, do not do enough to investigate sexual assaults. Even if "Jackie's" allegation was pure fabrication, UVA and LE had a duty to investigate the claim. Instead, as is so often the case, it was dismissed and swept under the rug.
Would those of us who have followed Hannah's case even be here if Liberty University or CNU had bothered to do their due diligence when it came to the accusations of sexual assault leveled against JM? Even if the two schools would have ethically and effectively communicated amongst themselves enough to share that JM had faced a disciplinary action we might not be here today. Hannah might still be here, on earth, with her loving family for the holidays.
The Rolling Stone article was a travesty due to lack of journalistic integrity and I can only hope that current and future sexual assault victims don't have to suffer for it.
As far as this specific fraternity is concerned, this isn't the first time they've made this sort of splash. They faced the same accusation in 1984 and incurred zero penalty. In that case, it took the survivor 20 long years to receive even a pittance of justice. So, while I cringe at any individual or group being falsely accused, I have zero sympathy for any blow back the institution that is this fraternity gets.
I have included a link to the survivor's stance on this in her own words. She is a survivor and deserves to be heard.
http://time.com/3619173/uva-rape-survivor-doubt-victim-story/
Hannah's case may have nothing to do with this fraternity, or any for that matter. But Hannah still became a victim of the institutional failure that should have been the crux of that Rolling Stone article. In Hannah's case, Liberty failed. CNU failed. The system that sexual assault victims must report to continues to fail. We need to actually follow through and investigate victims claims fully, regardless of outcome. This isn't one sided, if a false allegation is made that needs to be addressed as well. But it's no longer enough to tell our girls to protect themselves from boogey men if we're not willing to take action against them.
I'm very sorry this was so lengthy and preachy, this just has me utterly rattled and has since the allegations at Liberty and CNU came out against JM. The latest debacle with the Rolling Stone article just compounded that. This is all MOO and thank you for letting me share.
