A Quiet American Greatness and the Power of Its Good Example — New York Police Arrested International Monetary Fund Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on his Alleged Rape Victim’s Story Alone — Women’s Human Rights Attorney Cheryl Thomas Draws Our Attention to What’s Right with the United States

© 2011 Peter Free

 

19 May 2011

 

 

Women, I am convinced, predominantly see culture more clearly than men — that’s why what Cheryl Thomas said today resonates with me

 

I mention this story as an example that illustrates why the United States should (a) stop making perpetual war and (b) concentrate instead on continuing to provide the rest of the world with a progressively evolving experiment in humanitarian democratic self-determination.

 

It is not, ultimately, the force of misused arms that gains respect.  It is the power of clear human decency.

 

 

What Cheryl Thomas said about the rectitude of American law enforcement

 

Human rights attorney Cheryl Thomas cast light on something that escaped my attention — perhaps because, being from law enforcement myself, I take women’s security and equality under the law for granted.

 

She said:

 

As far as we know, the immigrant woman who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of rape has not been ignored, harassed, or banished from her community. Nor has she been accused of prostitution or dishonoring her family, as she might in many parts of the world.

 

Rather, New York law-enforcement officials have carefully documented and followed up on the hotel housekeeper’s allegations of violent sexual assault. They pursued a massively powerful man onto an airplane and arrested him based on her statement alone, with no witnesses to corroborate her story.  A female judge denied bail and the accused was detained, and prosecutors prepared a complaint.

 

Compared to what happens in much of the world, our legal system’s response, acknowledging that rape is real criminal behavior instead of shaming or blaming the victim or completely dismissing her claims, is revolutionary. I am deeply proud of it.

 

As a women’s human-rights lawyer who has worked for 20 years with partners in many countries to reform laws on violence against women, I know that women who make claims of sexual assault are, more likely than not, humiliated and disregarded by legal officials in many, if not most, countries.

 

© 2011 Cheryl Thomas, Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s Case Already a Victory for Our Legal System, Daily Beast (19 May 2011)

 

 

As I have said before, how a society treats women and children is the single best indicator of its ethical worth

 

When I was a police detective, nothing gave me as much predatory satisfaction as apprehending men accused of sexual assault and sending them on Justice’s way on the backs of a solidly built legal cases.

 

Nothing moved me so much as the soul-moving stories of their victims.

 

I stand with Cheryl Thomas’ praise of New York.

 

I thank her for taking the time to point out America’s reservoir of genuine, peaceful greatness.