April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which makes it a perfect time for some national gaslighting by our president. On March 30, the White House posted a declaration that is pretty fitting for an administration led by a president who bragged about sexually assaulting women, has numerous sexual assault victims and picked an Education Department Secretary who made schools safer for rapists.
Campaign Action
It talks about accountability, which is funny because Trump wouldn’t be president right now if we held sexual assailants accountable. In fact, Trump has been guilty of silencing victims himself. But why let a little reality get in the way?
Sexual assault crimes remain tragically common in our society, and offenders too often evade accountability. These heinous crimes are committed indiscriminately: in intimate relationships, in public spaces, and in the workplace.
We must respond to sexual assault by identifying and holding perpetrators accountable. Too often, however, the victims of assault remain silent. They may fear retribution from their offender, lack faith in the justice system, or have difficulty confronting the pain associated with the traumatic experience. My Administration is committed to raising awareness about sexual assault and to empowering victims to identify perpetrators so that they can be held accountable. We must make it as easy as possible for those who have suffered from sexual assault to alert the authorities and to speak about the experience with their family and friends.
It’s clear little care has been thrown into this declaration—why would they work too hard on it?—because the status has numerous typos.
They misspell assault. IT’S ONE OF THE WORDS IN THE DECLARATION. It’s half of the term “sexual assault.” Spellcheck and editors exist. Hell, there can’t be that many people fired from the White House that a communications assistant can’t find a coworker to give a quick read-over … right??
There’s also a noticeable dependency on talking about law enforcement and the legal system to address sexual violence. While it may make sense at face value, it’s actually pretty insidious. Trump, who is a fan of unproductive solutions and would clearly never want to make it easier for assailants to be held accountable, talks about sexual assault only as a crime.
When only 6 out of 1,000 rapes lead to even one day in jail, it’s hard to believe that depending on law enforcement, which has its own history of unchecked sexual violence, is the solution. It’s also worth noting that police have suppressed reports by marginalized survivors, like people of color and undocumented immigrants.
Folks are not missing the cognitive dissonance needed to take the declaration seriously.
Trump and his administration seem to not truly care about ending sexual violence, but it definitely appears that his election has raised more awareness about it.