I promise that I won’t recommend This American Life every single week, but this is an episode that I think many people should hear. Be warned that the topic of this episode is rape and discusses in some detail what happens to some rape and sexual assault victims. Anatomy of Doubt starts with the story of one woman who not only was doubted by the police, but the people closer to her turned against her, leading to the investigation to be shut down. In another town, another woman got much more support and the police went out of their way to work with investigators in other jurisdictions to help solve her case. Not to give too much away, but the two cases end up being related.
The Marshall Project and ProPublica have published a print story to go along with this podcast.
In our day and age, it is too easy for people to doubt victims of rape and sexual assault and put them on trial – at least figuratively – than to believe them and seek justice. I hope listening to Anatomy of a Doubt will help people reconsider that attitude.
Panorama of the Mountains 