Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work and writing. We finished out the week by heading up north where we enjoyed a couple of boat rides and a craft show.
Photo credit: hans pohl on Visualhunt.com
But enough about that, today I’d like to talk about a documentary available on Netflix. It is titled “Victim/Suspect.”
It’s the true story of women who’ve been sexually assaulted and report the crime to the authorities. It shows how the police lie to the victims after they share their stories. According to this documentary, the police can lie to the victims/suspects to see if they’ll recant their statements. If they recant their stories, the police don’t have to investigate. The problem goes away.
However, it doesn’t end there. What this investigative reporter, Rae De Leon, found was a pattern. There were more than two hundred cases showing where a young girl reported an assault, and the police lie to her by telling her they have a video or witness testimony that shows things didn’t happen the way she said. She starts to doubt her memory and recants her story, then she’s arrested for filing a false report.
Some of these girls have gone to jail because of this kind of interrogation. Many of these girls had been drugged or they were drinking, so their memories are sketchy. This plays well for the police. These girls are easier to convince that what they remember is incorrect.
Why would the police do this? First of all, rape is hard to prove especially if alcohol is involved. If they can get a young girl to recant her story, they don’t have to investigate.
According to the documentary, this seems to be normal practice whenever someone reports a rape.
What a horrible tragedy. First, you’re sexually assaulted then the police manipulate you into recanting your story, then you’re arrested for filing a false report. Some of these girls have gone to jail because of this.
This is just another example of victim blaming in our society . If this documentary has taught me anything it’s this. Never report a sexual assault without legal representation with you. A lawyer will be able to stop this kind of questioning by demanding proof of either the video or other evidence they have that negates the victim’s story.
If you are the parent of a young child, this documentary is a must see. It’s important for parents to see how the police operate in these horrible circumstances. That way they can stop the questioning before it becomes damaging to the victim.
Thanks for reading my post. I encourage you to watch the documentary. How would you feel if this happened to your daughter? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!
