When someone alleges a sexual assault, or other violent crime, the immediate significance of that claim affects the alleging victim, and one or more alleged assailants. Fundamentally, violent acts are about actual people, not headlines, policies, politics, etc.
Even if there were no criminal law, if there were no statutes criminalizing any kind of conduct, still there would be violent, immoral acts. Even if there were no publications, to report any news, still there would be wrongs and injuries.
There are, however, both criminal laws and reports about legal proceedings.
Not everyone will see these laws and reports, even the same laws and reports, in the same way.
Consider these headlines:
DA Will Not Prosecute in Alleged Sexual Assault Case
No charges filed against recruit in sexual assault case
For some, these headlines will suggest that there was no actual assault between a complainant and her alleged assailant. For others, the same headlines will suggest that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute an alleged assailant. For yet others, there will be concern that a prosecution might have been made, but wasn’t.
For it all, however, there will be others who will rush to another view: that because there was no prosecution over particular and specific allegations, there is no problem of assault at all. From one development (decided such as it was), these few will declare the absence of any problem.
Those few who seek to deny any problem, to absolve institutions, organizations, and officials of any wrongdoing – even any possible wrongdoing – will see these headlines differently from others. They’ll see them – and hope others see them – as a general exoneration.
It’s not, of course.
It’s just that they’ll hope others see it that way.