*****TRIGGER WARNING: contains discussion of sexual assault, rape, rape culture*********
I’m here to talk about something that I really wish I didn’t have to. I wish that I would never have to again, and I wish that we could live in a world where the idea of this happening is unfathomable. But I do, and we don’t, so here it goes.
The criminal justice system is failing victims, and it really pisses me off.
What I mean by “pisses me off” is that it fuels the hate fire currently burning in my chest and makes me see red. I say lots of bad words, and I can’t stop ranting, and it’s just not a fun time.
You know what else isn’t a fun time? Kesha being forced to work with a rapist. Her own perpetrator, to be more specific.
If you haven’t heard, get out from under that rock you’re living under! Basically, Kesha came out awhile ago and disclosed that she had been drugged and raped by her producer, Dr. Luke, ten years prior. It has also been reported that the reason Kesha entered a rehab facility for an eating disorder was because of harassment about her weight from Dr. Luke. Basically, the guy is a complete and utter jerk.
Dr. Luke
The legal issue was that Dr. Luke and Sony had a contract with Kesha that required her to work with Dr. Luke. Most recently, Kesha sought an injunction that would free her from her contract with Dr. Luke and Sony, because it is a completely normal and reasonable request to not want to work with your rapist, right?
WRONG, according to the judge who ruled on the case (and is apparently an idiot, if I may say so). Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich said that Sony would “suffer irreparable harm” if Kesha broke her contract. Because clearly, being drugged and raped causes much less irreparable harm than refusing to make six more albums with a company that employs her perpetrator, but that’s FINE.
Kesha in tears in the court room after it was ruled she could not end her contract with Sony.
And by “FINE” I mean disgusting and horrendous and unforgivable. Judge Kornreich also said that ending the contract would undermine state laws regarding contracts and the courts couldn’t do that.
No, the courts couldn’t possibly come through for a victim of sexual assault once in the history of forever. That’s just absurd.
If you don’t know the facts, here they are. The reality is, 97% of perpetrators will never see a day in jail. The criminal justice system is notorious for failing victims over and over and over again.
There is a reason that rape is the single most underreported crime. There is a reason that people like Bill Cosby’s victims (yes, all forty-two of them) and Kesha don’t hold press conferences announcing their status as victims. Firstly, it’s not something you want to share when it happens to you. You feel embarrassed and violated and dirty, and the last thing you want to do is announce to the entire world that someone has just taken a piece of you that you will never get back.
Secondly, look at how people have reacted. If I hear one more person say, “If it really happened, they would’ve said something before now,” I am going to rip their throat out, because guess what, you uneducated piece of trash? That is FALSE.
If you’ve ever said to a victim, “What were you wearing?” or “How drunk were you?” or “Are you sure you aren’t just having regrets?” or my favorite, “That’s not what this is, stop being dramatic,” then you should be ashamed of yourself. It’s incredibly invalidating to hear all of these things thrown at you, and someone like Kesha, who is in the public eye, is immediately opened up to millions of jerks saying these exact things to her the minute she decides to disclose her status as a victim.
Most victims can’t stand to even be in the same room as their perpetrator, let alone hear about them or even see their picture. What Sony and the courts are asking of Kesha is completely and utterly unreasonable.
This is why rape culture is a problem, and if you think that we do not live in a rape culture, you are wrong, and most likely contributing to the issue. We live in a world where bare shoulders are taboo in schools and women are taught how to avoid being assaulted and victims are forced to complete six album contracts with their perpetrators.
If there has ever been a time to stand up for something, this is it. Kesha’s experience sends a message to victims all around the world: No one will believe you. They will question you. Nothing good will come from telling your story.
The law does nothing. Perpetrators rarely go to jail, cops interrogate victims like they were the ones who committed the crime, and on the rare occasion the law does come through in the slightest, victims are harassed for the short jail sentences and community service requirements that are given to their perpetrators. I remember reading about one victim whose house was burned down, and another that was harassed until she moved cross country.
It’s not just Kesha. One in four women and one in six men will become victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. Your best friends and parents and siblings and cousins and significant others? Some of them are victims, even if you don’t know it. So if you’re going to open your mouth and be an ignorant piece of garbage, think twice about it, because while you’re saying things about Kesha’s Sony contract, you’re invalidating one of the people standing next to you.
Celebrities are rallying together, standing with Kesha, and it warms my heart to see it. People like Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Lorde, and more have publicly declared themselves in support of Kesha. The hashtag #FreeKesha and #SonySupportsRape have been making their way around Twitter.
Everyone should be making a fuss and taking a stand. If you’re not furiously enraged, you should be. You don’t have to be a fan of Kesha’s music to stand with her and stand against the rape culture we live in. You just have to be a decent human being.
Kesha is a human being, just like any one of us, and she deserves to have her feelings validated. She deserves support and love in this fight, because it is not over. This is a fight that will happen over and over again until we all stand up and say that we are tired of the crappy society we live in that blames victims and calls them liars.
#FREEKESHA