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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2018)
Page 12 September 26, 2018 MCS Still in Business O PINION Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area and Hallway Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $30.00 Heavily Soiled Area: $10.00 each area (Requiring Pre-Spray) Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning Regular Area Rugs $25.00 Minimum Wool Oriental Rugs $40.00 Minimum UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $70.00 Loveseat: $50.00 Sectional: $110 - $140 Chair or Recliner: $25.00 - $50.00 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Why Women Don’t Report Sexual Assault Delays should not discredit accusers by J ill r iCharDson When Chris- tine Blasey Ford came forward to report that President Trump’s Su- preme Court nominee, Brett Ka- vanaugh, sexually assaulted her in 1982, you could cue the response: Why didn’t she speak out then? Why didn’t she go to the police? There’s a long, long list of reasons why a woman wouldn’t speak out even now, and no doubt it was even more difficult in the pre-Anita Hill world of 1982. I can’t speak for everyone who has faced sexual assault, but I can speak for myself. 1. At first, I didn’t know that what happened to me was a crime. My first assault occurred in college, 18 years ago. He lived in my dorm. I knew what rape was and didn’t think I’d experienced that. But I didn’t know that sexual vio- lations without consent that aren’t sexual intercourse are also a crime. 2. I couldn’t talk about it. Even now, I can’t describe what happened to my therapist in any detail. What happened involved body parts that are too private to discuss with those closest to me — let alone the police, a judge, or a newspaper. Talking about a past trauma can be re-traumatizing. Some of us cope by staying silent. 3. I blamed myself. I physical- ful. It’s a perverse response, but it’s apparently not uncommon. 5. I know someone who re- ported a rape to the police and had a traumatic experience of testi- fying in court and getting cross-ex- amined by her rapist’s lawyer in front of her rapist. And then the rapist was found innocent. I don’t want that to happen to me. I’ll tell you this: Like Christine Blasey Ford, if the man who assaulted me was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, I’d speak up. ly resisted for a while and then I froze and it happened. At the time, I told myself that if I really didn’t want it, I would’ve kept fighting. I didn’t know that freezing is a nor- mal human response in a traumat- ic situation. 4. Afterward, I wanted him to be my boyfriend. My therapist said this was my way of trying to improve the situation. If he was my boyfriend, then what happened could be reinterpreted as meaning- 6. Now, 18 years later, the man who assaulted me is an instructor of neurology at a prominent chil- dren’s hospital. He did a terrible thing to me, once, nearly two de- cades ago. Should I attempt to ruin his career because of it? The answer to that is: I don’t know. If I thought he was still as- saulting women and my speaking out would contribute to making him stop, I would in a heartbeat. What he did to me 18 years ago still hurts so much that I would only revisit that assault and ex- pose him publicly if there was a very clear purpose to doing so. I expect if I did attempt to ex- pose him, I’d be attacked. People would say that it wasn’t an assault because I wanted him to be my boyfriend afterward. They would say I wanted it because I froze and stopped fighting. There are good odds I wouldn’t be believed. I’ll tell you this: Like Christine Blasey Ford, if the man who as- saulted me was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, I’d speak up. I don’t think a man who violates a woman that way is qualified to rule on cases of violence against women, or any other aspect of their well-being. I don’t think he could be impartial. When a victim of sexual crimes comes forward, even if it’s de- cades after the crime took place, we shouldn’t use her past silence against her as “evidence” to discred- it her. That urge to discredit is exact- ly why it takes so long for some to come forward in the first place. OtherWords columnist Jill Richardson is pursuing a PhD in sociology at the University of Wis- consin-Madison. She lives in San Diego.
