I'm sure many of you, the avid readers of my blog, have heard about the recent accusation by Sharon Bialek that presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harrassed and assualted her. Her recent, seven minute long statement about the alleged attack was sprinkled with references to her boyfriend of the time, a doctor who encouraged her meeting with Cain before she was attacked. Since then, a controversial question has been getting addressed more and more: are single women less credible when charging someone with a sex crime? In our society today, a single woman is more likely to be written off when accusing someone of sexual assualt, and will face more scrutiny if her case is investigated. People are just generally less likely believe that a single woman is attcked or assualted unprovoked than a middle aged woman, or one in a relationship.
The author of this article, being a woman, is obviously sympathetic to the difficulties women face when accusing attackers. She also seems to take the side of Sharon Bialek, showing more quotes of people who defend her boyfriend references than people who don't.
"The Boyfriend Defense"
http://news.salon.com/2011/11/09/the_boyfriend_defense/
I think that both sides of this case are bias and sympathetic to the one they favor, so it is hard to tell what the truth is.
ReplyDeleteSexual harassment is a serious offense, but some people are using it to make money. I don't know if I should believe this women because the incident occurred over ten years ago.
ReplyDeleteI don't think single women should be ignored, but I do agree that they are probably more likely to lie. Haven't multiple women accused Herman Cain? That's what I heard, but I can't remember where so it might not be true.
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