Jade Biggs
Thu, 11 May 2023 at 4:51 pm BST
“You have to treat [women] like shit.” “When I come home and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof.” “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy.”
These may read like the ramblings on an incel forum, or the comments under one of Andrew Tate’s TikTok videos, but they are, as we know, all statements made by Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States.
Although it seems inconceivable that someone with such power and responsibility could spew this kind of misogyny, it is something that Trump has been getting away with for years, decades – until now.
Over the past two weeks, headlines across the world have been dominated by a legal case brought against Trump by E Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexually assaulting and raping her in the changing room of a department store in the mid-nineties.
Following a tense two-week trial, the jury of six men and three women reached their verdict after just a few hours, finding him legally responsible for sexually assaulting Carroll, but not for raping her. Carroll was able to bring the civil case against Trump after New York passed the Adult Survivors Act in 2022 – this allows a one-year period for victims to file sexual assault lawsuits in the state involving claims that would have normally exceeded the statute of limitations.
During the trial – which Trump was not present for, a choice we might generously consider sheer arrogance – Carroll described in graphic detail how the former president allegedly assaulted her in the lingerie department of New York’s Bergdorf Goodman in 1995 or 1996. Carroll’s legal team called 11 witnesses to the stand to corroborate her claims, including two women who say they were also sexually assaulted by Trump. One woman told jurors that Trump had groped her during a flight in the 1970s, while another accused Trump of forcibly kissing her while she was interviewing him for an article in 2005.
Trump’s team, on the other hand, called no witnesses, and he has consistently denied the allegations. “It’s just made up,” he told jurors during the trial via video, later placing himself as the victim of a miscarriage of justice with a post on Truth Social – a media platform he founded in 2021 – that read: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”
“Today, the world finally knows the truth,” Carroll said in a statement following the verdict. “This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”
The victory has been celebrated on social media – not least because it means Trump is the first president to be found legally responsible for such an act – with many hailing the verdict as a “win for all women”.
“This guilty verdict is not only a victory for E Jean Carroll, but a victory for all women in general,” one person tweeted, as someone else said: “After carrying an injustice done to her for almost three decades, E Jean Carroll finally had her day in court and found vindication from a jury of six men and three women. Hers is a victory for all survivors.”
But can we really consider this a complete win for women? The verdict has been 30 years in the making for Carroll, who is now 79, and she has suffered ruthless trolling on social media as well as being consistently undermined by Trump. Last year, the former US president branded Carroll a “complete con job” and accused her of spreading lies following her allegations. Although Trump was found liable for defamation for these comments, the damage – of discrediting a sexual assault victim – was done.
Is it any wonder then that so many victims of sexual assault never come forward? In the UK, stats from Rape Crisis show that five in six women in the UK who are raped don’t report this to police, with 34% saying they thought doing so would be ‘humiliating’. This is often made even harder when the accused has status – just take a look at the online vitriol aimed at Amber Heard following the claims she made against ex-husband Johnny Depp, all of which he publicly denied.
What’s more, victims – who often face long-lasting impacts of the crimes committed against them, be it to their mental health, work and social lives or relationships – have to watch on as their alleged abusers face little to no repercussions. Like Depp, who continues to have a global fanbase and a lucrative career, Trump was still able to enter the most powerful office in the world with allegations including Carroll’s hanging over his head. Although he has denied them all, at least 26 women have accused the former POTUS of sexual misconduct to date, with claims dating back more than 50 years – a bleak reminder that women’s cries can fall on deaf ears, especially when in the face of immense power.
It’s why Carroll’s decision to go up against this force must be applauded, but we must also acknowledge that fighting for what is right isn’t something all women have the means, energy or ability to do, particularly when it comes to victims of colour or other marginalised groups.
Nevertheless, Carroll’s win does still feel like a step in the right direction. To that end, all we can do is hope that Carroll’s impressive resolve will serve as a source of empowerment to other victims of sexual assault. We may often go unheard, distrusted and humiliated, but vindication in the face of adversity is possible – even if it takes 30 years to achieve.
For help with any of the issues discussed in this article, visit:Rape Crisis England & Wales, Rape Crisis Scotland or Rape Crisis Northern Ireland. Rape Crisis provides emotional and practical support for survivors, families and friends.
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