1/ Ahead of today’s #KavanaughHearings, some, including @realdonaldtrump, asked why Dr. Christine Blasey Ford didn’t report her experience sooner.
There are a lot of reasons victims of sexual abuse don’t immediately speak up. And a lot of reporting on the subject, too.
There are a lot of reasons victims of sexual abuse don’t immediately speak up. And a lot of reporting on the subject, too.
2/ First: Context. 1 in 10 adults – 24 million people – were sexually abused before they reached 18. Yet less than 40 percent of children who are sexually abused tell anyone. And a fraction of those cases end up being reported to authorities.
revealnews.org/article/tennes…
revealnews.org/article/tennes…
3/ Reporter @tennesseejane has firsthand experience with this. It took her decades to tell police that her gymnastics coach sexually abused her as a child.
Her story is at the center of this August 2016 episode:
revealnews.org/episodes/dropp…
Her story is at the center of this August 2016 episode:
revealnews.org/episodes/dropp…
4/ Others fear retribution. Here are a few ways that structural power dynamics keep people from reporting their abuse ...
5/ Reporter @TreyBundy has spent years investigating abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Speaking out in that community can mean being “disfellowshipped,” or formally ostracized.
revealnews.org/topic/jehovahs…
Speaking out in that community can mean being “disfellowshipped,” or formally ostracized.
revealnews.org/topic/jehovahs…
6/ The case of Debbie McDaniel is particularly instructive. After reporting sexual misconduct, she was summoned to a hearing by the very man she says abused her.
He voted to kick her out.
revealnews.org/article/jehova…
He voted to kick her out.
revealnews.org/article/jehova…
7/ “I thought it ironic,” McDaniel told @TreyBundy, “that the man who had molested me was now going to oust me to keep his congregation clean.”
8/ And as @bmyeung has detailed through years of reporting (here, and now with @ProPublica), low-wage female workers face the threat of losing their livelihood, and more, if they report.
Whether it’s farmworkers … revealnews.org/article/female…
Whether it’s farmworkers … revealnews.org/article/female…
9/ In a recent collaboration with @NYMag / @TheCut, @bmyeung explained how #MeToo, for all its power, has left behind many women who still can’t report their abusers.
They’re worried about retribution. And not being heard.
Read their stories:
revealnews.org/article/the-un…
They’re worried about retribution. And not being heard.
Read their stories:
revealnews.org/article/the-un…
10/ We have a new investigation that digs deep into what happens when victims *do* report sexual assault.
It’s coming very soon. To be among the first who see it, subscribe to our newsletter: revealnews.org/newsletter
It’s coming very soon. To be among the first who see it, subscribe to our newsletter: revealnews.org/newsletter
11/ Also, via @Fahrenthold:
12/ In 2014 alone, more than 284,000 cases of rape and sexual assault occurred among people 12 and older, per one study.
The same study, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, estimates that only 1/3 of those instances were reported to police. revealnews.org/article/report…
The same study, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, estimates that only 1/3 of those instances were reported to police. revealnews.org/article/report…
13/ "Studies suggest one in four college women experience rape or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime. Advocates embrace the statistic, insisting college rapes are vastly underreported." @readfrontier: readfrontier.org/special-projec…
