Lizzy

As the Strauss-Kahn case devolves into a messy game of character assessment, each day revealing a new “fact” about the accuser who up until this point has remained nameless, I am left with a familiar feeling of feminist déjà vu. It was only weeks ago that two NYC police officers were acquitted of a rape, a crime that one of them verbally admitted. This acquittal happened largely on the basis of the accuser’s – the victim’s- actions. The fact that she was “drunk”, “drunken”, “partying”, or any other number of adjectives were splashed across front cover stories, is as well known as the fact that the officer’s were accused of a crime. The problem with this individualizing rhetoric, one that focuses on the activities and personality of the accuser, is that it misses the point. Sexual assault and rape are a reflection of larger power structures in our society; the fact that police officers not only have access to the means to commit such a violent and heinous crime, but that they can be acquitted is a testament to the structures in play that protect them from being prosecuted.

It is in this climate that people are beginning to question the “credibility” of a housekeeper who accused one of the most financially prominent and powerful men in the world of sexual assault. I cannot imagine being in her shoes; not only did she make the decision to report the sexual assault to ...