Daniel Holtzclaw, a Former Police Officer, Stands Trial For Serial Rape

In what might be termed an egregious case, a former Oklahoma City police officer is currently standing trial for potentially having preyed upon a neighborhood populated with minorities because he felt that they would be cowed by his authority into never reporting. This highlights a handful of things about sexual abuse. It's often about power or authority--sexual demands emanate from someone who has leverage over the victim in any way. But also, it's not unknown for law officers to abuse their authority in this way. And because of the asymmetry of their privilege, the victims overwhelmingly never tell.

The trial being just now underway, I am not trying to say I know for sure that the accused stands guilty as all hell. I'm just saying there are certainly people who have had badges and do have badges that certainly the hell are. And that their victims would be far less certain of ever finding justice in the legal system, to be honest. This is why when people come forward in a case like this, I view their testimony as a little more likely--because of all the forces that would otherwise urge against their ever coming forth. I guess that is a bias, in a way. But I feel like these women need to get heard out. It is never right for authority to be abused, or for a position in law enforcement to grant a kind of immunity to judgment.