I was reading this article about a rape trial involving 2 Kutztown University students. While the article was not particularly good or bad, what caught my eye was the 45 comments posted after the story. All but 5 of these comments are outright and unabashedly victim-blaming. Generally, I try to brush off appallingly ignorant comments posted on news stories, but this started me thinking more about how the people that post these comments are likely reflecting the attitudes of the general public. Disturbing…highlighting the need for continued basic education on rape issues…
Change Happens: The SAFER Blog
because a whistle is not a prevention program
Regarding the 2 alleged rapes at Kutztown, James VanDerbeek was cleard last week after it was brought to light that he was charged without any investigation & that the univ police shredded his statement & the alleged victim refused to cooperate with police. The other 2 boys she accused were white and were not arrested
Charges were dropped against James Vanderbeek because of procedural concerns – his original statement was shredded by the investigating police officer. The DA suggests that there have been some changes made in how the university police handle sexual assault investigations but not enough specifics have been released. Proper evidence gathering would seem like a basic expectation for any police department so I hope real changes are made at Kutztown.
I have not seen any mention of others being accused and not investigated, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the above comment. The story can be found here.