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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

He said/she said

Whenever a sex crime is alleged, either the accuser is the victim or the accused is the victim.

On the one hand, it’s a terrible thing to be the victim of a sex crime. And that can be compounded if no one believes you. If you’re stigmatized for coming forward. You’re victimized twice over. You suffer alone.

On the other hand, it’s an equally terrible thing to be falsely accused of a sex crime. At one stroke you can lose everything. You reputation. Your job. Your kids (as CPS swoops in). Your marriage. And your freedom (if your wrongly convicted and imprisoned).

Moreover, it’s hard to defend yourself against a false charge. For the very allegation renders everything you say suspect. Even if there’s no hard evidence to corroborate the charge, people no longer look at you the same way. You’ve lost the presumption of trust.

Some accusers are genuine victims. But some accusers are malicious liars. And some accusers are self-deluded–often with the help of a therapist who plants ideas in the mind of the patient. We’re very susceptible to a therapist who encourages us to shift the blame.

These are all well-documented phenomena.

1 comment:

  1. Steve Hays: "Some accusers are genuine victims. But some accusers are malicious liars. And some accusers are self-deluded–often with the help of a therapist who plants ideas in the mind of the patient. We’re very susceptible to a therapist who encourages us to shift the blame."And then we have the Accuser of the Brethren.

    Sigh. Praise God that He's a Merciful, Just, and Wrathful Judge who's the Lover of our souls.

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