Why Victims Need to be Believed

 Being attacked is a traumatizing experience, especially when there is seemingly no reason for the attack.  Charlie Rogers reported to police that she had been assaulted in her home by three masked men.  The men beat her, tied her up, and carved anti-gay slurs into her arm and abdomen.  Afterwards, they vandalized her home by spraying more slurs onto the walls and tried to set it on fire.  She believes she had been targeted because she is a lesbian.

The police are investigating the attack as a hate crime, but have yet to come up with any suspect.  This has led some to start speculating she made up the attack, victimizing Charlie again and causing further emotional damage.

For many victims, especially those of sexual assault, the most important thing anyone can do for them is support them by believing them.  Their minds are already full of doubts, searching for answers to questions like "why me?"  Often times they will begin to think it was something they did to cause it, which is affirmed by someone's disbelief in their story.  It's as if saying to the victim "you brought this on yourself because there is no other reason why anyone would do such a thing."

The truth is when someone acts, they choose their own actions.  Whether it is performance of benevolence or malice, that person chose how they would behave.  Rules, laws, and morality may serve as guidelines, but ultimately the responsibility for any act falls upon the one who committed it.

When we believe in victims, we help them find the first steps toward recovery, by regaining control in their lives.  We show them they don't have to stand alone, that there is someone willing to support them.  Believing the victim also tells the perpetrator that we will not accept their behavior nor just look away.

Besides, with the time it takes to file a report, going through a medical exam, and all the other frustrations when reporting a crime, why would anybody go through all that over a lie?