McElroy on Justice in Pre-Rape Trial Reporting

McElroy on Justice in Pre-Rape Trial Reporting

FOXNews.com - Views - ifeminists - Kobe Case Puts Victims' Rights on Trial

Two defenses are commonly offered for maintaining anonymity: to protect the victim from embarrassment; and, to encourage other victims to come forward.

The first rationale rests on the compassionate and sound belief that a rape victim should not be brutalized a second time. However emotionally compelling this argument may be, it fails because it assumes precisely what is in question. Is the accuser a victim? Is the accused guilty? Until the evidence has been openly examined, these questions cannot be answered.

Beside which, sympathy for a possible victim does not explain why equal consideration is not extended to the accused. After all, the accused is presumed innocent and, so, the reporting of his name may devastate an innocent life. If the victim's identity should be protected, so should the accused up until he is judged 'guilty.'

The second rationale for anonymity is to encourage accusers to come forward. There is nothing positive about increasing the number of accusations unless they are accompanied by standards that maintain the accuracy of reports and the rights of the accused. By loosening standards of accountability, false reports are likely to increase and, so, cause the sort of backlash we are witnessing today. People are concerned not only for victims who may be their daughters, they also worry about their sons who could be falsely accused. . . .

Veteran PC feminist Susan Estrich has noted this risk. In an Oct. 22 column for Creators Syndicate, she wrote: "From the perspective of the laws that protect victims' rights, this is a train wreck waiting to happen. You have the worst possible facts; the worst possible victim; the worst possible case for maintaining privacy. The 'nuts and sluts' defense has found its cover girl."