I Believe

I am deeply troubled by the well-intentioned but fundamentally inaccurate discussions and dialogue I hear from my friends and family and colleagues regarding sexual assault.   They incorrectly use logical conclusions to dissect and question traumatic reactions.  Current media events have provided plenty of fotter for discussion. I am troubled not just because the logic-based conclusion are inaccurate.   I am most troubled because I realize that the inaccuracies in our perception mean that we are not preparing our wives, sisters, daughters and friends to weather similar situations. When the women in our lives hear us brazenly declare "what we think we know" about a place we have never been, we silence them from reporting what happens to them.  When their traumatic reaction conflicts with the logical conclusions they hear us so confidently declare, they stay silent and blame themselves. And even worse, by silencing victims with "what we think we know," we create an