Excellent article about victim's testimonies being discounted in favor of 'preserving the legacy' of the rapist/molester. Its starting point is Mackenzie Phillips confession about being abused by her father. It ends with a general summary of what rape/molestation victims go through when their attacker is famous or well respected.
from Rape Apologism and the response to Mackenzie Phillips.
Excerpt:
All survivors experience backlash by going public — that backlash is only going to grow tenfold when the abuser is famous. It’s this backlash that makes coming forward so difficult, but also so significant. People don’t like to hear that their heroes can also be rapists, and that rapists can also be heroes. People don’t like to hear that rapists can have separate qualities worth admiring, can have talent, and depth, and people who love them. People don’t want to hear anything about rapists that doesn’t involve them being evil, slimy, instantly identifiable monsters, who have absolutely no worth or humanity. People don’t want to hear it because it makes rape easier to ignore, deny, forget, and believe could never happen to them, could never be committed by someone they know.
That is precisely why people need to hear it.
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