Trump's tweet on Christine Blasey Ford sparks outrage from some women
PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- In a tweet today, President Trump questioned the credibility of Christine Blasey Ford asking 'If the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local law enforcement authorities"
That, in turn, helped spark the hashtag #WhyIDidn'tReport.
But it's true, most women don't report -- 63 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to police, this according to the latest 2015 report from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
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"Part of it is in the inner turmoil that people have about if I put this out here, how are people going to view me, what will they think about me," said Sheryl Davis of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.
According to stats from the Criminal Justice System, female victims don't report because
- They fear retaliation
- Believe police would or could not do anything
- It was a personal matter
- It was reported to another agency
- It wasn't important enough to report
- Didn't want the person to get in trouble
- 30 percent gave another reason.
We asked women in their 50s, what they would have done had they been sexually assaulted back in the 80s when they were in their teens.
"In that time, I wouldn't know what was consent or what it meant or how you demonstrated that and certainly I would have not wanted my mother to know I was actually at a party or that I was drunk so, it wouldn't have come out," said Michele Liedeker, a Berkeley resident.
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"Back in that time, at that age, that time, it was totally different than it was now. There was no 'Me Too' movement, there wasn't anything so I probably would have kept it quiet," explained Beth Lougee of Chico.
But still in the minds of some is the question of why report it now.
"If something happened that would be a big deal however why didn't she come forward a long time ago," asked Connie Steele, who lives near Sacramento.
Many are hoping Blasey Ford's potential testimony will shed some light on the issue.
For more information on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, visit this page.
