Innocent until tried by headline
: A top TV presenter in Britain whose reputation and career were destroyed by an accusation of rape has just been cleared of the charges.
And this has led to a debate over whether those accused of rape — and not just their accusers — should have their identities withheld.
There’s a fallacy in the logic here that leads to something we don’t believe in here (well, excepting that nasty little business of suspected terrorists being arrested in secret): The law and its enforcement must be transparent to protect the accused and so the accused can face his accuser and so his justice is meted out under public scrutiny.
In the case of rape, it’s not transparent because the accuser’s name is withheld and that leads down this slippery slope.
Rape is no longer seen as the shame of the victim. It is a crime like any other and needs to be treated like any other. This case and Kobe Bryant’s lead us there.
