It was just after 2 a.m. on a pitch-black Friday morning when Bernadette Greene-Placentiaās life changed. The Democratic candidate for Congressional District 8 strolled across a parking lot to repair a damaged campaign sign. It was a routine sheād followed all summer. This time, she only made it a few yards.
An attacker smashed her over the head. She blacked out. She woke up to find a strange man on top of her.
Greene-Placentia struggled to open her eyes. She felt a sharp pain below her waist. The attacker was pulling his penis out of her.
She heard him mumble something like, ā-ic bitch, not a very good fuck,ā which her mind filled in as āDemocratic bitch,ā she recalled. She wasnāt sure that was exactly what he said.
One leg was out of her jean capris. She wore brand-new tennis shoes and a campaign t-shirt. Another man came over. Greene-Placentia felt his weight nudging her left leg further apart. She began swinging her foot at him. āNot even worth it,ā she heard the man say as he moved away. He wore black boots and had small feet, she recalled.
The two men left Greene-Placentia face down in the parking lot. The hatch of her silver Jeep Grand Cherokee was still open. The car was still running. She heard music.
She doesnāt remember pulling up her pants or picking herself off the asphalt parking lot. She doesnāt remember closing her Jeepās hatch and putting her foot on the gas. She doesnāt remember pulling her car into the driveway and collapsing into her bed.
āItās just these little tiny flashes of things that I do remember,ā Greene-Placentia said in an interview with Phoenix New Times. āAs much as I donāt want to remember, Iāve tried very, very hard to remember more stuff. But thatās where Iām at.ā
Investigate and arrest them what the fuck?
Do you not realize how cops treat crimes like rape and sexual assault? About the huge backlog of rape kits that are left untested in this country?
I honestly donāt understand it and Iām asking you to help me understand.
Cops just choose to ignore 90% of rape cases? How do we fix that?
By pressuring authorities to do their jobs, protesting, focusing the blame on the rapists and not victims, call other men out for their sexist comments and actions, educate our youth on consent and respect and that women are equals to men, etc etc
Itās not just the police that ignore crimes, itās the entire system. Itās our rape culture that asks why the victim was out at night instead of why these men decided to force their penises inside of her after knocking her out cold. Itās judges that give rapists light sentences on the rare occasions they are actually before a judge. Itās the lack of budget for processing evidence of rape. Itās the prosecutors that refuse to press charges despite having a mountain of evidence.