Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF director, initially appeared to be the classic case of power abuse. It was a sex scandal worthy of the front page of CNN on many days. He event beat out Arnold on days where both of their sex scandals were news. Both involved a married man and someone in a domestic capacity. But DSK, as he is often labeled, seemed to be more newsworthy. The difference? Arnold admitted he did it and DSK did not. Also, and more importantly, DSKs actions were treated as a crime. If Arnold Schwarzenegger had been arrested on rape charges, it would have much more newsworthy. I think it’s along the same lines as people stopping to look at accidents, or watching reality TV. We want the drama even if it is at someone else’s expense.
Credibility
Now that the credibility of the alleged victim in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case has been found to be less than credible, the whole case is falling apart and will likely go away. Or more likely it may flip and the accuser may become the accused. This is a defense attorney’s dream, since virtually all defenses are based on the premise that the accuser lied. Because of the magnitude of this event, many sexually abused woman may be reluctant to come forward for a while. This is unfortunate because false accusations are actually pretty rare. With the exception of coerced custody related issues, false accusations rarely occur in children who do not yet have a reference for sex in their life.
If people knew how often sexual abuse actually happened, the DSK case would probably be less noteworthy. But because sexual abuse gets buried in shame and the fear of being called a liar, we really don’t have a context for how common it is. We want the bad people to get punished. Unfortunately, the drama of the media distorts what is and is not true.
Let us know if we can help you dealing with your family’s sexual abuse situation. For ideas to get started please check out our book on what to do during the early days after disclosure.
