By Linda L Barton
I have been out of the political loop over the last couple
of weeks, and I find myself concerned
with what I’ve seen happening in my absence.
It appears the sexual assault accusations against the powerful have
continued and are now reaching those in business and Washington DC, as well as
more in Hollywood. I cannot say these
reports surprise me in the least, as we’ve all heard the stories of wrongdoing
throughout the years. However, the
surprising part is how those who had once circled the wagons around Bill
Clinton are now so quick to throw him and others accused of sexually
mistreating women under the bus. I do
worry, though, this can also be used as a tool to destroy a political opponent
in the vilest way.
Years ago, my son faced such a young woman. Angry because he would not have sex with her,
this underage girl decided to cry rape.
After hiring a lawyer to protect him from facing 30 years in prison and his
passing a lie-detector test and she facing taking the same test, she finally
confessed how she had made the story up because she was angry at his
rejection. The exact words of this
13-year-old girl were, “No one tells me
no.”
However, the damage to my son’s name and reputation was
already done. The whispers of his guilt
continued until he was forced to drop out of his junior year of high school.
Then to add insult, NOTHING happened
to this girl for filing a false report. Yes, that’s right, she walked away free
and clear to do this to another young man.
As a victim of rape, myself, I find a woman who cries
wolf only makes it difficult for women who are actually attacked by sexual
predators to be believed. I assume this
is why so many women never come forward and file charges against their
attackers. I was raped in the early 1980’s, and because I was on a date with my
attacker, I remained silent. I was led
to believe by those in the media no one would believe
my story, so I held my anger and pain inside and continued on with my life. I
must tell you when my son faced false charges of rape only to have the girl
claim it was done out of revenge, I burned with rage. It took all the strength
I could muster not to slap the smug expression off her face.
Now we watch those who had protected Bill Clinton from the
claims of sexual assault from NUMEROUS
women use this method to destroy their political opponents. To use this horrible act as a tool for
political gain is truly sickening and
those guilty of this should face legal punishment. Women need to wake up and
stop being used. We have tried to prove
our worth over the years as strong, self-sufficient women. We have moved into the world of business and
politics as leaders. So, WHY would
we let ourselves get used in such a manner?
When women allow themselves to be used as political pawns, we are
letting ourselves to be raped in entirely a different
way. We only lesson the strength
and believably of the TRUE claims
of abuse.
Years ago, women marched and struggled for our place in the
world. However, now we have taken a step
backward and dishonored the women who stood against those who would lessen them as human beings. Shame
on women who cry wolf for they are no better than those who treat women as
sexual playthings.
