Season 4, Episode 20: Rape Statistics Don’t Tell the Whole Story: Rape Victims Do

Can you imagine experiencing a devastating trauma, having to tell all of the hurtful details to strangers, only to face judgment, criticism and even blame? Too often, that’s what rape victims go through. It’s not just the criminal court system. What if when you tried to have criminal charges brought, your attacker sued you in civil court?

We are going to investigate a shocking true crime story to see what spiritual and safety takeaways we can find. Both our case and our guest today overcame systems that seemed stacked against them. These stories will show us ways each of us can be a different kind of PI - a person of impact. It's so much easier to do that than you might think.

Our book this week is Know My Name by Chanel Miller and our guest is Witlee Ethan. Let’s dive into this disturbing yet hopeful case. I won’t get too graphic but we will be discussing sexual assault and rape, so please use your discretion when listening to our sharing this episode.

Highlights from this episode include:

• Men that the world sees as good people can still commit evil acts
• Women who have less than perfect lives can still be victims
• Victims of sexual assault desperately want to feel clean and a non-profit called Her Well addresses this problem with compassion, love, and practical support

Dive a little deeper into Deuteronomy 16:18-20 In Deuteronomy, Moses emphasizes the importance of making a daily choice between pursuing our own wants or obeying God's commands. Individual responsibility is critical, but we all are also part of a larger community. We have to look out for ourselves but we cannot neglect looking out for others as well. Let’s dive a little deeper into Deuteronomy 16:18-20 from the Contemporary English Version:

Moses is speaking to Israel, and he says: “After you are settled in the towns that you will receive from the Lord your God, the people in each town must appoint judges and other officers. Those of you that become judges must be completely fair when you make legal decisions, even if someone important is involved. Don't take bribes to give unfair decisions. Bribes keep people who are wise from seeing the truth and turn honest people into liars. People of Israel, if you want to enjoy a long and successful life, make sure that everyone is treated with justice in the land the Lord is giving you.”

It’s easy to look at these verses and put the responsibility for justice completely on judges. But notice that it’s the people who are appointing these judges! We have to be sure that when we support candidates in any position that we look for people of character - people who will be fair and not give in to corruption. I’m not saying that in either Chanel or Witlee’s case there were any illegal dealings, but there were certainly questionable decisions made. If you get a copy of “Know My Name”, you see how even though Brock Turner was convicted, his sentence was so light that an outraged community had him recalled as a judge. And Witlee is advocating to be sure that cases like hers are dealt with fairly as well. As a community, we have to look out for each other and hold our leaders accountable for their failures.

If you like this episode: Don’t miss Season 4, Episode 4: Surviving: Doing Whatever You Need to Do

Visit my website to access more episodes and read my blog posts. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com.

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