A recent NPR broadcast segment produced by the This American Life program focused on an allegation of sexual misconduct by a woman against her anaesthesiologist while she was in labor.
Her allegations were not only not believed by anyone, but she was lied to by the police detective assigned to her case. He never took her allegation seriously and falsely claimed he was doing all sorts of things to advance her case, when in fact he did nothing beyond talking to her from time to time.
The 10 minute broadcast segment: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/669/scrambling-to-get-off-the-ice/act-two-2 The transcript: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/669/transcript (starts at Act Two: Going Under)
The segment is about people in difficult situations who are trying to move and fix things. For a while they are running in place, trying one tactic after another, hoping something will work.
When Jessica Hopper was inappropriately groped by an anesthesiologist, during labor, she tries to out him that same day, to a roomful of hospital staff who don’t believe her. That sets her on a many year mission to get someone to take up her cause. She exhausts herself trying. And then finds out that at least one person had heard her – someone she hadn’t reached out to on her own.
On March 1, 2012, I was in the hospital delivering my son. And an anesthesiologist repeatedly groped me while administering my epidural. I've told the story of what he did to me again and again, dozens of times over the last seven years to the hospital, the police, the detectives, my attorney, the state medical licensing investigator, my victim advocate, a judge, a reporter, another detective, and eventually people close to me.
I pinpoint that moment as when I know something was off, how I read his name tag and took note of his name, where he stood, where the light was in the room, approximately what time of day. I detail how he put his hands on my breasts, cupped and held them. I describe the touch as sexual and not clinical. I describe how he was silent when I asked, what are you doing? And how he did it again. It did not stop until I said, what the [BLEEP] are you doing? I explain how he did not look at me and just left the room, how I told my husband immediately after he came back in the room.
About an hour and a half later, within a minute or two of delivering my son, I told the entire room what the doctor had done to me. But how I told them came out sarcastic and nervous, almost like a joke, saying that I was so happy to have an epidural that I almost didn't mind that the doctor had felt me up. I knew they heard me because the neonatal nurses weighing my son froze, and one locked eyes with me. My midwife told me, don't say that. That didn't happen. Don't say that.
The state's attorney declined to take her case due to lack of evidence. 'He said, she said' cases were impossible to prosecute. One woman's allegations alone are insufficient. Jessica understood there was almost no chance of getting the doctor to face consequences. After the incident, Jessica stopped going to doctors and dentists because she did not want to be touched. Finally she gave up: "On Valentine's Day 2015, feeling deeply discouraged, I told my lawyer to drop my case. I didn't talk about it or tell friends or family because I just wanted this all to go away. I tried to forget, but I couldn't."
The situation changed for Jessica some years later only after another woman came forward and made the same allegations against the same doctor.
He [an investigator] asked me if I would be willing to testify against the doctor. I said yes. Finally, I was being believed because there were two of us. I got off the phone and involuntarily screamed over and over before collapsing on the floor, sobbing. I was furious there were now two of us. I was elated there were now two of us. We were not in this alone.
What I'd learned about the woman who'd come forward was that she was undocumented, a single mom. She did not speak much English, and she was testifying. I felt overcome with love and gratitude for her, this brave woman I didn't know, this woman who is taking a risk coming forward.
Jessica's doctor had his medical license suspended for a minimum of three years, and he was fined $15,000 for what he did to the other woman. He was not disciplined for anything relating to Jessica because there wasn't enough proof for her claims.
Al Franken - Was he treated fairly?
What about Brett Kavanaugh? What about politics?: Remember the sex misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh? At least two credible women alleged sexual misconduct, but of different kinds. The conservative tribe (republicans, populists, Evangelical Christians, etc.) mostly rejected the claims of both women, sometimes as lies, sometimes as confusion, sometimes as insufficient. The FBI did not do a thorough investigation so there was no serious effort to collect available evidence. The liberal tribe mostly accepted the the claims of both women.
What that says about politics, its morals and how it works is simple: Men in the conservative political tribe can get away with stuff, but men in the liberal political tribe could have a harder time pulling it off. In broader society, two allegations are probably more likely to be taken seriously and investigated seriously. In politics they may not be taken or investigated seriously. It depends on the tribe you are in.
Brett Kavanaugh - Were his accusers treated fairly? B&B orig: 3/5/19
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