“Crying Wolf” and Calling Foul
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By Emily Dake
Emily Dake is a graduate of Vassar College and executive assistant at SWAN. In her spare time, she enjoys theater, music and Gothic literature.
Jamie Leigh Jones, the former Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) employee who claimed she was gang raped and locked in a shipping container for 24 hours after reporting her assault, has lost her long, onerous case against the contracting giant. This news comes on the heels of reports that the sexual assault case against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is unraveling. These two high-profile blows have made survivors of sexual assault and advocates understandably disheartened. Besides the loss or dismantling of the cases themselves, the plaintiffs have been dragged through the mud, blamed for their own assault, and painted as conniving, lying troublemakers. Many news outlets have published detailed accounts of what prosecutors, defendants and the public think these accusers did “wrong,” even going so far as to accuse them of “crying wolf” even before their cases went to court.
In these cases, much of what skeptics say the plaintiffs did “wrong” (from drinking, to having an undisclosed history of mental illness, to having loved ones in jail) had little bearing on the evidence of the case at hand, but succeeded in casting enough doubt on the situation and the accuser’s credibility that juries felt the need to acquit, or lawyers got skittish enough to talk about dropping the case.
It is next to impossible to know what actually transpired in these cases (or any criminal case, for that matter), and plenty of time and energy has been devoted to analyzing and decrying the off-topic victim blaming in which the press, the public and prosecutors have engaged. What has received far less press is the potential for progressive legislation and policy that arise from such cases, regardless of their outcome. Taking a cue from Pema Levy at The American Prospect, here are some positive, concrete changes that have come from recent high-profile rape and sexual assault cases:
Jamie Leigh Jones v. KBR:
While I would not go so far as to say that “women won the KBR case” that Jamie Leigh Jones fought and lost, I would agree with Levy’s conclusion that the Franken Amendment, which was inspired by Jone’s struggle to have her day in court and not argue her case in front of a corporate arbitrator, really got to the heart of the case:
[Minnesota Senator Al] Franken succeeded in amending the 2009 Defense Appropriations bill to prohibit the Defense Department from hiring companies that use arbitration to resolve cases of sexual assault, battery, or racial discrimination. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law.
Jones’ rape case was only of secondary importance to KBR. What the company was really afraid of was losing the ability to force arbitration. One rape case could be dismissed as an aberration, but dozens are a public-relations nightmare. In March of last year, KBR withdrew its appeal to the Supreme Court fearing the suit would violate the Franken amendment and endanger a $2.3 billion contract they signed with the government.
Some have argued that Jones’ spotty background, vacillating story and media interaction hurt future rape cases and more “credible” survivors who might sue in the future. The Franken Amendment, however, opened the door to justice wider for employees of government contractors. Even in the wake of Jones’ loss against KBR, the Franken Amendment ensures that those who would report and press charges for sexual assault are free to do so in a civil court. Legislation like the Franken Amendment could also put a chink in the armor of “binding arbitration clauses” across the board.
Sofitel Hotel Maid v. DSK
In the DSK case, which has not yet been dropped but is portrayed as getting weaker every day, a letter released by prosecutors and law-enforcement officials indicated that the accuser has lied about being raped in the past and spoke with someone in prison very soon after the attack about her options and the potential benefits of reporting and pressing charges. While neither of these things prove she was not assaulted, they are casting serious doubt on the accuser and may give DSK hope of walking free (though another pending attempted rape lawsuit against him by a young journalist in France will surely dampen that “silver lining”). However, the case is serving to highlight the particular vulnerabilities of hotel maids. The Huffington Post reports:
Labor groups say many more [maids] are hushed up because the victims are illegal immigrants or because hotels are wary of scaring off guests. Many hotels laid off security staff during the recession, leaving workers even more vulnerable, they said.
“It’s dangerous work,” said Yazmin Vazquez, who works at a hotel in downtown Chicago. “These customers think they can use us for anything they want because we don’t have the power that they have or the money that they have.”
Two hotels have taken up the cause, having maids carry panic buttons while cleaning rooms alone at the suggestion of the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council. Newser.com reports that “The union hopes to make panic buttons mandatory at all hotels in the city.” It’s not a perfect solution, but it is certainly more proactive than some hotels’ standard “best practice” of propping the door open with a cart.
Cioca et al. v. Rumsfeld and Gates
SWAN has been closely following and reporting on the progress of another high-profile case filed by a group of military sexual assault and rape survivors against former Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. While this case has not gone “awry,” it has been and will no doubt continue to be a long and difficult journey for everyone involved. Though years from a possible conclusion, this case has already influenced policymakers like Representatives Braley, Speier, Tsongas and Pingree as well as Senators Gillibrand, Slaughter and Klobuchar resulting in at least a dozen pieces of legislation with much-needed and long-overdue provisions for both the prevention of sexual assault in the military and care for survivors.
Reporting sexual assault and pressing charges is extremely difficult, and survivors choose to report and/or press charges (or not) for a variety of legitimate reasons. Lawsuits fall apart for a variety of legitimate (and not-so-legitimate) reasons. Analyzing those reasons is important, but just as important is highlighting the potential for positive change that cases such as these can hold.
DSK’s Initial Case Falling Apart as New Charges Arise From Another Woman – Feministing
What the Jamie Leigh Jones Verdict Says About Rape Culture – Care2
The DSK Maid is Suing the NY Post for Saying She’s a Prostitute – Business Insider
Why Jamie Leigh Jones Lost Her KBR Rape Case – Mother Jones
How Women Won the KBR Rape Case – American Prospect
Strauss-Kahn Prosecution Said to be Near Collapse – The New York Times
Tristane Banon to File Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn – Huffington Post
Hotel Maids in Manhattan to Carry Panic Buttons After Second High Profile Assault Case – Newser
Military Rape litigation – Service Women’s Action Network
Our Work – Legislation – Service Women’s Action Network
