Epidemic of disbelief in rape cases

[Velar Fricative]

The details are infuriating.

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/an-epidemic-of-disbelief/592807/

Each year, roughly 125,000 rapes are reported across the United States. Sometimes the decision to close a case is surely correct; no one wants to smear an innocent man’s reputation or curtail his freedom because of a false report. But in 49 out of every 50 rape cases, the alleged assailant goes free—often, we now know, to assault again. Which means that rape—more than murder, more than robbery or assault—is by far the easiest violent crime to get away with.

What struck her first was the sheer number of repeat offenders: Of the rape kits containing DNA that generated a CODIS hit, nearly one in five pointed to a serial rapist—giving the Cleveland investigators leads on some 480 serial predators to date. On a practical level, this suggested that every allegation of rape should be investigated as if it might have been committed by a repeat offender. “The way we’ve traditionally thought of sexual assault is this ‘he said, she said’ situation, where they investigate the sexual assault in isolation,” Lovell told me. Instead, detectives should search for other victims or other violent crimes committed nearby, always presuming that a rapist might have attacked before. “We make those assumptions with burglary, with murder, with almost any other crime,” Lovell said, “but not a sexual assault of an adult.”

Eric Beauregard, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University who has interviewed 1,200 sexual offenders, says profiling may fail because a predator’s reality falls short of his fantasy. Most offenders tell him that they do hunt for a certain type of victim, but “what they had in mind and what they selected did not match at all,” he says. “If they are looking for a tall blonde with big breasts, at the end of the day, it was: She was there, she was available, she was alone. Those were the criteria.” Nathan Ford’s victims, for example, were black, white, Hispanic, and Asian; 13 years old and 55; on the west side of the city and on the east.



“Thank God we have DNA,” Dan Clark, one of the Cleveland investigators, says. “Because trying to put together a pattern where there is no pattern is impossible. It’s no wonder we didn’t catch that many people.”

Why would officials decide not to pursue these cases? Campbell and Lovell point to the same factor: law enforcement’s abiding skepticism of women who report being raped. This is a problem with no easy fix, says Dan Clark, the Cleveland detective, who conducts training programs across the country for SAKI. Clark tries to teach investigators to take a woman’s allegation of rape as seriously as they would a report of assault or robbery. But in private conversations afterward, he says, it becomes clear the message didn’t sink in: Officers continue to tell him they think that many women lie about being raped, and that their claims aren’t worth investigating. “This is that sort of intractable belief that we could not seem to shake.”

[mrsukyankee]

RAGE!!!!!

[noodleoo]

Given Brett Kavanaugh and Trump, I'm not at all surprised sadly. I think I lost all faith in humanity after the Kavanaugh hearings.

[Jalapeñomel]

My god.

[wawa]

I saw this on FB and have been reading it in rage filled gulps. I keep having to take breaks to stop from screaming.

Burn it down.

[litebright]

Meanwhile, about half the arrests in this country are for MJ possession.

That was what really struck me out of wawa 's post on drug enforcement the other day, combined with a fact-check of Cory Booker popping up in my FB feed -- he had claimed that more than half the arrests in the U.S. in 2017 were for marijuana possession. It's true -- and it was true in 2016 and 2015, too.

Can you imagine the potential difference if HALF of law enforcement resources could be shifted toward better strategies for encouraging reporting and actually following up on and prosecuting sex crimes? And other cold cases like murders. We'd have so much of a better chance of catching violent men (because it's almost all violent men) and repeat offenders, and protecting women and children.

I heard a discussion yesterday on NPR that was related to a woman TV critic, and she talked about how procedurals like Law & Order SVU that are about sexual violence, almost exclusively directed toward women, actually have high numbers of women viewers. Her theory is because it's a kind of fantasy about a system that cares so much about them that it will relentlessly pursue justice for sex crimes against them, and has a preternaturally caring and understanding woman leader/detective who helps the victims through the process. It's a fantasy, because it is the kind of experience that nearly every woman would want if she were a victim (and many are), but so few actually experience.

It was one of the saddest/sickest things I've ever heard. SVU as a fantasy. Because it portrays a system that cares about sex crimes and getting justice (again, primarily for women).

[waverly]

Thanks for posting this. I've thought for a while, that it is a lot of men who are repeat offenders. We have a couple of people who are sex offenders who come into our building at work (convicted and on probation), and with all the information coming out with the Me Too movement- it showed that pattern as well.

Anyway, to me it seems that the most important thing is for those boundaries to be in place. In this case the justice system doing it's job and convicting rapists. Left unchecked is when they rape again and again.

I am glad they are checking rape kits now, but it feels very too little too late, but they are also getting convictions. I don't know why anyone would say well why didn't you come forward? No one believes them, they don't test the kit, they don't interview anyone, they close the case and blame the victim.

And I agree about the Kavanaugh hearings and losing faith in humanity. Or rather that element of humanity was always there, but I just didn't realize that no one cared or rather no men care, so rapist presidents and supreme court judges- all fine to them.

[taratru]

I just...I'm so filled with rage and anger. What is wrong with us as a society that women are so devalued as humans? What can we do to change this, when the people is power are doing and saying what they are?

[wambam]

At least one woman had completed a forensic exam. The police had tested the rape kit—but only for drugs in her system, not for the rapist’s DNA.

War. On. Women.

[debatethis]

Fucking white man christo-fascist patriarchy.

[aliciabella]

Jul 16, 2019 12:06:03 GMT -5 litebright said:

Meanwhile, about half the arrests in this country are for MJ possession.

That was what really struck me out of wawa 's post on drug enforcement the other day, combined with a fact-check of Cory Booker popping up in my FB feed -- he had claimed that more than half the arrests in the U.S. in 2017 were for marijuana possession. It's true -- and it was true in 2016 and 2015, too.

Can you imagine the potential difference if HALF of law enforcement resources could be shifted toward better strategies for encouraging reporting and actually following up on and prosecuting sex crimes? And other cold cases like murders. We'd have so much of a better chance of catching violent men (because it's almost all violent men) and repeat offenders, and protecting women and children.

I heard a discussion yesterday on NPR that was related to a woman TV critic, and she talked about how procedurals like Law & Order SVU that are about sexual violence, almost exclusively directed toward women, actually have high numbers of women viewers. Her theory is because it's a kind of fantasy about a system that cares so much about them that it will relentlessly pursue justice for sex crimes against them, and has a preternaturally caring and understanding woman leader/detective who helps the victims through the process. It's a fantasy, because it is the kind of experience that nearly every woman would want if she were a victim (and many are), but so few actually experience.

It was one of the saddest/sickest things I've ever heard. SVU as a fantasy. Because it portrays a system that cares about sex crimes and getting justice (again, primarily for women).

Just to clarify-Booker is referring to DRUG ARRESTS, not all arrest. Marijuana accounts for over 1/3 Nationwide but can be as high as half in certain areas

[litebright]

Jul 16, 2019 12:50:20 GMT -5 aliciabella said:

Jul 16, 2019 12:06:03 GMT -5 litebright said:

Meanwhile, about half the arrests in this country are for MJ possession.

That was what really struck me out of wawa 's post on drug enforcement the other day, combined with a fact-check of Cory Booker popping up in my FB feed -- he had claimed that more than half the arrests in the U.S. in 2017 were for marijuana possession. It's true -- and it was true in 2016 and 2015, too.

Can you imagine the potential difference if HALF of law enforcement resources could be shifted toward better strategies for encouraging reporting and actually following up on and prosecuting sex crimes? And other cold cases like murders. We'd have so much of a better chance of catching violent men (because it's almost all violent men) and repeat offenders, and protecting women and children.

I heard a discussion yesterday on NPR that was related to a woman TV critic, and she talked about how procedurals like Law & Order SVU that are about sexual violence, almost exclusively directed toward women, actually have high numbers of women viewers. Her theory is because it's a kind of fantasy about a system that cares so much about them that it will relentlessly pursue justice for sex crimes against them, and has a preternaturally caring and understanding woman leader/detective who helps the victims through the process. It's a fantasy, because it is the kind of experience that nearly every woman would want if she were a victim (and many are), but so few actually experience.

It was one of the saddest/sickest things I've ever heard. SVU as a fantasy. Because it portrays a system that cares about sex crimes and getting justice (again, primarily for women).

Just to clarify-Booker is referring to DRUG ARRESTS, not all arrest. Marijuana accounts for over 1/3 Nationwide but can be as high as half in certain areas

When you posted this, I went back and checked. I got his claim wrong -- he said that there were more arrests for MJ possession alone than for all violent crimes put together, and he didn't refer to the overall %. Thanks for calling that out. 

www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/jul/11/cory-booker/more-arrests-us-marijuana-possession-violent-crime/

"As for Booker’s claim, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) database, law enforcement nationwide made an estimated 518,617 arrests for violent crimes in 2017. That includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

That figure is lower than the 599,282 arrests made for possession of marijuana."

That's why I was thinking half, since it's about 500K vs. 600K. But you're right, that doesn't count the total of arrests for other types of drugs. 

[shauni27]

This is fucking INFURIATING.

[msmerymac]

My governor - Tom Wolf, Dem, PA - just signed a law that will prohibit a rape victim's sexual history from being used in court proceedings. 1) What the actual fuck?! and 2) You'd be amazed (or not) at the people (and by people I mean men) bitching in the comments about how this will somehow help convict people who have been wrongly accused. Because the .001% of people wrongly accused of rape are the real problem, not the 98% of women who are raped who never see justice done to their attacker.

[jeaniebueller]

Also, I'll mention that juries do not believe women. So even if you get an office and DA on board with charging a case, juries are generally stupid and fall for the same 'what was she wearing??? why didn't she just leave?' and other nonsense that the general public does. On top of that the criminal justice process is really difficult for victims even when you can get a conviction.

[aliciabella]

Jul 16, 2019 13:13:46 GMT -5 litebright said:

Jul 16, 2019 12:50:20 GMT -5 aliciabella said:

Just to clarify-Booker is referring to DRUG ARRESTS, not all arrest. Marijuana accounts for over 1/3 Nationwide but can be as high as half in certain areas

When you posted this, I went back and checked. I got his claim wrong -- he said that there were more arrests for MJ possession alone than for all violent crimes put together, and he didn't refer to the overall %. Thanks for calling that out. 

www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/jul/11/cory-booker/more-arrests-us-marijuana-possession-violent-crime/

"As for Booker’s claim, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) database, law enforcement nationwide made an estimated 518,617 arrests for violent crimes in 2017. That includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

That figure is lower than the 599,282 arrests made for possession of marijuana."

That's why I was thinking half, since it's about 500K vs. 600K. But you're right, that doesn't count the total of arrests for other types of drugs. 

Sorry the quote got so long, but comparing drugs offenses to violent crimes is like apples and oranges. You need to find what the arrest rate for marijuana is compared to all drugs arrests for a fair comparison. These are the UCR from 2017..

ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/arrest-table

Marijuana arrests are not taking away significant resources out of violent crime divisions ( at least in larges forces). But, he is right. Marijuana arrest range from 1/3 to 1/2 of all drug arrests.

It is weird comparison as violent crime occurs far less often than drug offenses which is why there is a discrepancy. I don't know why he did that.

[WOT?*]

Jul 16, 2019 13:59:55 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Also, I'll mention that juries do not believe women. So even if you get an office and DA on board with charging a case, juries are generally stupid and fall for the same 'what was she wearing??? why didn't she just leave?' and other nonsense that the general public does. On top of that the criminal justice process is really difficult for victims even when you can get a conviction.

This. See also: Christine Blasey-Ford (and "the setup of Brett Kavanaugh by Dr. Ford, a Democratic activist..." among other claims.) And re: the comment by wambam on War. On. Women see also Trump's abortion ban becomes effective. My head is on fire today.

[Bernadine]

This just makes me want to cry.

Our country is so fucked up, I actually feel lucky that I’ve never been raped. I shouldn’t feel that way.

[SwimDeep]

...and my H wonders why I'm so fucking angry all the time...

[litebright]

Jul 16, 2019 14:00:41 GMT -5 aliciabella said:

Jul 16, 2019 13:13:46 GMT -5 litebright said:

When you posted this, I went back and checked. I got his claim wrong -- he said that there were more arrests for MJ possession alone than for all violent crimes put together, and he didn't refer to the overall %. Thanks for calling that out. 

www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/jul/11/cory-booker/more-arrests-us-marijuana-possession-violent-crime/

"As for Booker’s claim, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) database, law enforcement nationwide made an estimated 518,617 arrests for violent crimes in 2017. That includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

That figure is lower than the 599,282 arrests made for possession of marijuana."

That's why I was thinking half, since it's about 500K vs. 600K. But you're right, that doesn't count the total of arrests for other types of drugs. 

Sorry the quote got so long, but comparing drugs offenses to violent crimes is like apples and oranges. You need to find what the arrest rate for marijuana is compared to all drugs arrests for a fair comparison. These are the UCR from 2017..

ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/arrest-table

Marijuana arrests are not taking away significant resources out of violent crime divisions ( at least in larges forces). But, he is right. Marijuana arrest range from 1/3 to 1/2 of all drug arrests.

It is weird comparison as violent crime occurs far less often than drug offenses which is why there is a discrepancy. I don't know why he did that.

That stat link really helps with context, so I'm going to quote a few of them directly. It probably would've been more relevant in the drug enforcement thread, but we're having the convo here so I'm just going to continue. 

So basically, for 2017, arrests for sale/manufacturing of all drug-types were about 15% of arrests, versus about 85% for possession. MJ was not-quite 37% of the total (ranging from almost 50% of arrests [as you mentioned] in the Midwest to about 12% in the West -- those are huge regional differences!) with heroin/cocaine possession accounting for about 20% of arrests and "other dangerous non-narcotic drugs" accounting for about 23%. 

And I dunno, Booker's remarks were in the context of legalization, basically saying that we are arresting a whole lot of people for MJ possession -- more than we are for violent crime. I don't think he was looking for an apples-to-apples comparison so much as a point about how whether so much of law enforcement should be focused on MJ possession. Which was what I was getting at in my first post. 

 But yeah, I was way off in saying half of arrests. Eeep. 

[VillainV]

If you want to be further infuriated about rapes that go uninvestigated, unprosecuted, and unconvicted, read John Krakauer’s “Missoula.”

[wildrice]

Jul 17, 2019 8:18:51 GMT -5 VillainV said:

If you want to be further infuriated about rapes that go uninvestigated, unprosecuted, and unconvicted, read John Krakauer’s “Missoula.”

I was thinking about this book while reading the article. I don't even know what to say anymore. It is disgusting how little is done about sexual assault and general violence against women.

[downtoearth]

Jul 17, 2019 9:14:46 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Jul 17, 2019 8:18:51 GMT -5 VillainV said:

If you want to be further infuriated about rapes that go uninvestigated, unprosecuted, and unconvicted, read John Krakauer’s “Missoula.”

I was thinking about this book while reading the article. I don't even know what to say anymore. It is disgusting how little is done about sexual assault and general violence against women.

And honestly, it's amazing how little prosecutors are able to do with rape and assault cases against women. Many police are not comfortable or trained properly in response resulting in biased questioning and lost information, the prosecutors are stuck by terrible past case law and jury selection that is biased against convicting "nice young men" and ingrained with ideas like "boys will be boys," as Missoula noted, prosecutors are overworked and have to focus on cases that they can win convictions easily - not the he said/she said tough narratives of rape/assault cases. Plus the victims are shamed and doubting after trauma and they get little to no help, and the justice system is not set up to deal with intimate cases like this with any tact - it becomes more shameful for the victims and more difficult for prosecutors when our society doesn't believe women about anything. And that is only the women that come forward... so many don't (link to accompanying article in the Atlantic to the OP that talks directly about this on college campuses still - www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/07/why-dont-more-college-rape-victims-come-forward/593875/)

Even when you have footage of a teen raping a drugged girl, judges ignore the prosecutor and defend the minor b/c he's from a "good family." Then it takes a fighting, underpaid prosecutor to leak transcripts to get a judge removed - but still no justice for the rape victim is had. We have to start new somewhere and working with victim-assault task forces in PDs, training for investigators, and hiring/supporting prosecutors who understand victims from trauma situations of rape/sexual assault needs to happen ASAP - still this won't change quickly, will it?

[aliciabella]

Jul 16, 2019 12:37:59 GMT -5 wambam said:

At least one woman had completed a forensic exam. The police had tested the rape kit—but only for drugs in her system, not for the rapist’s DNA.

War. On. Women.

Testing for drugs is done on the spot in the hospital and is part of the forensic examination. DNA needs to sent to approved genetic testing facilities where there is years worth of backlog. While I agree with the anger I just want it to be focused on the proper thing. Ya know?

This article is very slanted and gives numbers and statistics without the clear background and the full picture. Sexual assaults are the least likely crime to be reported. It also is incredibly difficult to prosecute as victims recant their stories or they report it years or even days later when there will be little forensic left to test. Also, rapes by strangers are more likely to be reported right away but make up the least percentage of offenders as most assaults are committed by people known which also plays into victims unwillness to report and testify.

There is alot that goes into this and the massive backlog of dna testing makes it more difficult. Departments are resorted to cold case units and CODIS which is effective in finding offenders especially as more and more people are placed into the system.

I work for the defense and am not the biggest fan of the police but I think this article is misleading. Sexual assaults are far different from murderer and robbery cases and shouldn't be compared imo.

[aliciabella]

Jul 17, 2019 12:03:07 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Jul 17, 2019 9:14:46 GMT -5 wildrice said:

I was thinking about this book while reading the article. I don't even know what to say anymore. It is disgusting how little is done about sexual assault and general violence against women.

And honestly, it's amazing how little prosecutors are able to do with rape and assault cases against women. Many police are not comfortable or trained properly in response resulting in biased questioning and lost information, the prosecutors are stuck by terrible past case law and jury selection that is biased against convicting "nice young men" and ingrained with ideas like "boys will be boys," as Missoula noted, prosecutors are overworked and have to focus on cases that they can win convictions easily - not the he said/she said tough narratives of rape/assault cases. Plus the victims are shamed and doubting after trauma and they get little to no help, and the justice system is not set up to deal with intimate cases like this with any tact - it becomes more shameful for the victims and more difficult for prosecutors when our society doesn't believe women about anything. And that is only the women that come forward... so many don't (link to accompanying article in the Atlantic to the OP that talks directly about this on college campuses still - www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/07/why-dont-more-college-rape-victims-come-forward/593875/)

Even when you have footage of a teen raping a drugged girl, judges ignore the prosecutor and defend the minor b/c he's from a "good family." Then it takes a fighting, underpaid prosecutor to leak transcripts to get a judge removed - but still no justice for the rape victim is had. We have to start new somewhere and working with victim-assault task forces in PDs, training for investigators, and hiring/supporting prosecutors who understand victims from trauma situations of rape/sexual assault needs to happen ASAP - still this won't change quickly, will it?

Let's be clear here because while all that is true in many cases that typically ONLY applies to WHITE defendants. If it is a black defendant and a white victim none of that applies and they will be convicted based on their color only. It is no secret why the conviction rates are much higher for POC than whites.

[mouse]

I'm not sure why anyone thought that there wouldn't be a high percentage of repeat offenders. The rapists I've known (and I don't think I'm alone with knowing rapists) were predatory and targeted those least likely to be believed. But there's only so many times you can have a "misunderstanding" or "aggressive flirting" before a pattern emerges.

[downtoearth]

Jul 17, 2019 13:03:26 GMT -5 aliciabella said:

Jul 17, 2019 12:03:07 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

And honestly, it's amazing how little prosecutors are able to do with rape and assault cases against women. Many police are not comfortable or trained properly in response resulting in biased questioning and lost information, the prosecutors are stuck by terrible past case law and jury selection that is biased against convicting "nice young men" and ingrained with ideas like "boys will be boys," as Missoula noted, prosecutors are overworked and have to focus on cases that they can win convictions easily - not the he said/she said tough narratives of rape/assault cases. Plus the victims are shamed and doubting after trauma and they get little to no help, and the justice system is not set up to deal with intimate cases like this with any tact - it becomes more shameful for the victims and more difficult for prosecutors when our society doesn't believe women about anything. And that is only the women that come forward... so many don't (link to accompanying article in the Atlantic to the OP that talks directly about this on college campuses still - www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/07/why-dont-more-college-rape-victims-come-forward/593875/)

Even when you have footage of a teen raping a drugged girl, judges ignore the prosecutor and defend the minor b/c he's from a "good family." Then it takes a fighting, underpaid prosecutor to leak transcripts to get a judge removed - but still no justice for the rape victim is had. We have to start new somewhere and working with victim-assault task forces in PDs, training for investigators, and hiring/supporting prosecutors who understand victims from trauma situations of rape/sexual assault needs to happen ASAP - still this won't change quickly, will it?

Let's be clear here because while all that is true in many cases that typically ONLY applies to WHITE defendants. If it is a black defendant and a white victim none of that applies and they will be convicted based on their color only. It is no secret why the conviction rates are much higher for POC than whites.

Majorly overlooked by me. Yes, thanks for bringing up. Believing women means elevating the voices of those who need it most. The root of rape culture has roots in racism too, doesn't it?

This is not surprising. Studies have shown that Black girls, women, and non-binary people are hyper-vulnerable to abuse. About 22 percent of Black women in the United States have experienced rape. Forty percent will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. And Black women are killed at a higher rate than any other group of women. A 2015 survey of Black trans and non-binary individuals found that 53 percent have experienced sexual violence, and 56 percent have experienced domestic violence. At least 16 Black trans people were reportedly murdered in 2018 alone.

When abuse occurs, they are less likely to be believed and supported. A report published by Georgetown Law Center found that “adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers.” Black girls are perceived to be more independent, more knowledgeable about sex, and in less need of protection.

The same perception follows them into adulthood. A juror from Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial, where Kelly was acquitted, said that he did not believe testimony from Black women because of how they dressed and “the way they act.”

These perceptions boil down to a disturbing reality: Black women, girls, and non-binary people are seldom seen as victims. Instead, they are seen as deserving of harm or unable to be harmed. This perpetuates a long legacy of impunity for violence against Black women, girls, and non-binary people.

www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/legal-system-has-failed-black-girls-women-and-non

[aliciabella]

Jul 17, 2019 13:57:29 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Jul 17, 2019 13:03:26 GMT -5 aliciabella said:

Let's be clear here because while all that is true in many cases that typically ONLY applies to WHITE defendants. If it is a black defendant and a white victim none of that applies and they will be convicted based on their color only. It is no secret why the conviction rates are much higher for POC than whites.

Majorly overlooked by me. Yes, thanks for bringing up. Believing women means elevating the voices of those who need it most. The root of rape culture has roots in racism too, doesn't it?

This is not surprising. Studies have shown that Black girls, women, and non-binary people are hyper-vulnerable to abuse. About 22 percent of Black women in the United States have experienced rape. Forty percent will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. And Black women are killed at a higher rate than any other group of women. A 2015 survey of Black trans and non-binary individuals found that 53 percent have experienced sexual violence, and 56 percent have experienced domestic violence. At least 16 Black trans people were reportedly murdered in 2018 alone.

When abuse occurs, they are less likely to be believed and supported. A report published by Georgetown Law Center found that “adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers.” Black girls are perceived to be more independent, more knowledgeable about sex, and in less need of protection.

The same perception follows them into adulthood. A juror from Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial, where Kelly was acquitted, said that he did not believe testimony from Black women because of how they dressed and “the way they act.”

These perceptions boil down to a disturbing reality: Black women, girls, and non-binary people are seldom seen as victims. Instead, they are seen as deserving of harm or unable to be harmed. This perpetuates a long legacy of impunity for violence against Black women, girls, and non-binary people.

www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/legal-system-has-failed-black-girls-women-and-non

Thank you for the information.