Phi Kappa Psi at U of Virginia Voluntarily Suspends Activities

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by robinseggblue

To me concerns with reporting immediately jumps to a meaning of safety concerns and the like. Jackie's name has supposedly been released to the public. Whether she is lying or is traumatized to remember specifics, it is not okay for her identity to be revealed in that way and I am concerned for her safety even though I don't know her.

If she is lying, it is absolutely okay to reveal her identity. She should have to live with the shame that she lied about being raped, even indicated who she thought did it, potentially ruining the life of the man she falsely accused. I can think of few things less contemptible than that.

If you read the WaPo article, either this journalist is just a total hack and moron, or at the very least, the details Jackie provided were false.

There won't be legal consequences for her, a lawsuit is highly problematic, and what lawyer is going to take a case where he sues a student who is probably already up to her eyeballs in student loan debt?

In my family law work, I see this sort of thing all of the time. Women in custody and divorce situations very often will manufacture claims of domestic violence, abuse or child molestation against the fathers and typically, the consequences are nil. There's almost no downside to it. Courts don't award custody of children punitively because one party was dishonest with the court.

I suspect some attorneys of counseling their clients to make these sorts of claims to gain a leg up in the litigation.

It is not a leap for me to think a woman with a past record of attention-seeking activism might make up a claim of sexual violence in order to get attention. It certainly seems possible.. even probable here.

One of the most interesting comments I've heard listening to the coverage on this was on NPR this morning about the difference as to how an activist journalist from a rag like the RS vs. how a prosecutor interview rape victims. RS journalists tend to be sympathetic, maybe even rewarding (possibly unconsciously) a victim for jazzing things up a little. Prosecutors on the other hand are aggressive, cold, at times even demeaning and very detail-oriented so that by the time the case is ready for trial, the victim's story is absolutely air-tight.

Since there will probably no consequences for anyone except maybe the Phi Kappa Psi house, I guess whichever truth you are inclined to believe is up to you and it's immaterial who is right vs. who is wrong.