LETTER: Sexual assault application not a good option for survivors


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TO THE EDITOR:

In regards to the article published by Central Michigan Life titled ‘Mobile phone app gives options to survivors of sexual assault’: I, as a survivor of sexual assault, find this article to be insulting to sexual assault and the way it should be handled.

I am the survivor of a sexual assault from a serial rapist who I did not know. For the last 17 months I have been battling him in court in order to send him to prison. After my experiences, I can definitively say that had I decided to use an app like this instead of calling police that night my rapist would not be behind bars, let alone serving six life sentences.

Sexual assault is one of the most horrific crimes a person can experience, but it is a crime and crime needs the intervention of law enforcement. I fully understand why someone may not want to contact law enforcement, but this app, I’ve-Been-Violated, will not be able to gather all the evidence the police need to get an arrest and conviction. 

This app gives victims the false sense of security that their rapist can be punished whenever they decide to come forward. The harsh reality of the situation is, in a court of law this video will mean nearly nothing as evidence. 

My personal case was a juried trial. Although my testimony and identification were strong, it was the DNA evidence that ultimately solidified his guilty charge, not my words.

This video will also lock the victim into whatever they initially said once taken to the courtroom which can be detrimental to their testimony. 

Trauma has a strong effect on the brain’s ability to store memories and recall them. In my personal case the victim before me had difficulty recalling characteristics of her attacker. 

It took months of counseling before her brain would allow her to fully recall his appearance. Had she decided to use this app her video may have done more harm than good to her testimony.

I do agree that there needs to be easily available resources to victims of sexual assault but when it comes to reporting the crime, calling the police is the most effective manner, not making a video on an app.

Jennifer Eskridge

CMU student

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