The Domanic Stauss-Kahn case is over, and there were no winners. In my humble, scathing and unsolicited opinion, there were three losers.
Why three? You ask.
The first is Dominick Strauss-Kahn himself. The former International Monetary Fund Chief. He is a loser because of the dust up, he lost his cushy job, and his reputation while he cooled his jets in The Manhattan House of Detention. And, for a couple of weeks he was the man every woman loved to hate.
Why?
Because he was a rich CEO. An apparently “sleazy old man” who had nothing better to do than to sexually assault a poor Ghanian immigrant maid who was just doing her job. Apparently, he took advantage of the fact that he was super rich, and in a powerful position, did what he wanted. He could get away with it because he could buy himself out. The height of arrogance . . . . .
The next loser is the maid, Ms.Nafissatou Diallo. She claimed that she was sexually assaulted/raped when she entered Stauss-Kahn's suite at the Sofitel Hotel execute her duties as a housekeeper.
Over the river and through the woods this case went for the past three months. Until yesterday, when it was dismissed by a Manhattan judge. The bottom line? The case's glaring lack of evidence. Ms. Diallo's testimony was not believable. In other words, she lied too much.
The third loser?
Women as a whole. Federal Bureau Investigation ( FBI ) statistics say that only one woman out of every six who are sexually assaulted/raped, files an official police report. Why? Because the very act of sexual abuse is traumatizing enough to a woman. One is often further traumatized, abused, and humiliated by the justice system's questioning, scrutiny, and the process. Unfortunately, though this is the 21 Century, the justice system still treats women as if they perpetrated the crime.
Why is that?
Globally, law enforcement departments, officers, and the justice system knows that there are a certain percentage of women who do lie and say they were raped. Reason? Revenge, and/or monetary compensation. . . . . Hold that thought.
Ms. Diallo fell into right into the latter category! She saw Dominic Strauss-Kahn as an “easy mark”. She moved in for the kill, by saying he sexually assaulted her, so she could collect a much bigger paycheck than she was earning as a maid. Pure and simple.
What does this do for women who wish to report that they were honestly sexually abused? It makes them withdraw and hide the fact, rather than to be further disgraced by the justice system. Don't forget the news media, if it a high profile case.
What I suggest if God forbid this happens to you, develop a support system of family, friends, acquaintances who will stand with you. Someone to stay with and escort you from beginning, when you file the initial report, to the end, conviction or non-conviction. Stick with it, don't give up, and most importantly, don't go through it alone.
This is the only way the justice system will see that women are honest and sexual abuse is not a joke nor a laughing matter.
