Georgia State Lawmaker Seeks To Redefine Rape Victims As 'Accusers'

PharmParty · 2011-02-05T22:52:31+00:00

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee writes, "To diminish a victim's ordeal by branding him/her an accuser essentially questions whether the crime committed against the victim is a crime at all. Robbery, assault, and fraud are all real crimes with real victims, the Republican asserts with this bill."

No, branding someone an accuser does not essentially question whether the crime committed against the victim is a crime at all.

Since the American system is set up such that one is innocent until proven guilty, it follows that one is an accuser until proven a victim - does it not?

Or, maybe we could start saying the alleged victim?

In any event, the legislation that needs to created involves all of the "protectionist" measures taken to protect accusers. Either make it so both parties remain anonymous, or neither party remains anonymous. Only then can we start on the road to equality.

2011-02-06T01:16:48+00:00

I agree with this...if we start calling them victims right of the bat, then people will have the mentality that they are in fact victims and treat them as such all the while the accused is now presumed guilty until proven otherwise.

2011-02-05T22:58:01+00:00

[permanently deleted]

Bobsutan · 2011-02-06T17:45:13+00:00

Good! Another way they could have gone is to just keep the current framework in place "alleged victim". The reason this push was made I think is because the "alleged" part of that was commonly dropped off and it implies assumed guilt on the accused. By switching the language around it from "alleged victim" to "accuser" it helps preserve innocence until proven guilty. Plus about half of all accusations are false to begin with, so maybe this will help cast doubt on the claim as well. Rape is an emotionally charged word, so the more we can cast the accusation in a critical light the better the court and jury can decide the case.

Title	Georgia State Lawmaker Seeks To Redefine Rape Victims As 'Accusers'
Author	EvilPundit
Upvotes	23
Comments	11
Date	February 5, 2011 9:54 PM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/ffz7o/georgia_state_lawmaker_seeks_to_redefine_rape/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/georgia-state-lawmaker-seeks-to-redefine-rape.1043472 https://theredarchive.com/post/1043472

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