End the Silence Campaign

Recently, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been charged with sexually assaulting a hostess at a Nevada casino. Unfortunately, this is a difficult case of one man’s word vs. one woman’s word, complicated by the fact that this particular man is a sports icon and local hero. I do not want to comment by offering my opinion about this story because my opinion, without the appropriate facts, is meaningless.

However, I do want to comment on the recent words of a defense attorney for the Lake Tahoe hotel where the young woman worked. The woman is filing charges against the hotel because she testifies that she reported the crime but the hotel is covering it up.

Margo Piscevic, the defense attorney for several Lake Tahoe hotel employees, argues that the woman’s affidavit should be withheld because it is nothing more than media grand-standing. Further, he calls the timing of her charges “the cold, calculated vengeance of a woman scorned.”

I find it impossible to understand how a rape trial – whether criminal or civil – can be conducted seriously without the victim’s affidavit. Regardless of this particular attorney’s view of women (which I find to be evident in his statement), a charge cannot be deemed false without testimonies from both parties.

I also am deeply offended by Piscevic’s assertation that this young woman’s allegation is the action of “a woman scorned.” This is an insult to all women, and especially to survivors of sexual violence. I am not speaking to the facts of this case, but rather to the general gender-discrimination that his words incite.

There has long been a stereotype in our country and the rest of the world that women claim rape because of jealousy, anger, and scorn. Sadly, despite consistent research that false rape reporting makes up an almost inconsequential number of rapes reported, there is still a widespread belief that women “cry” rape when they want to get back at men. If only more people would understand that the decision to charge your rapist with a crime is an incredibly difficult one that takes time, strength, and an incredible power of conviction. There are few people who would go through the harrowing process of standing before dozens of police officers, lawyers, friends, family, etc. and risk a trial that could last years simply to get back at a man for not being interested.

Perhaps Piscevich, a claimed defender of our nation’s justice system, should choose his words a bit more carefully. Sadly, his ignorance is indicative of a larger national ignorance that allows words like his to be spoken again and again.

You can read the complete article from the Associated Press by clicking here.