Regarding Assange: a reminder...
Myth 2. The Swedish sexual assault charges against Assange are frivolous
Two Swedish women reported that Assange assaulted them during August of 2010, when they were hosting him on a trip to Sweden. One of the women described Assange pulling her clothes off against her will and pining her down. The second woman told police that she woke up to find Assange having sex with her. Both women claim that Assange removed his condom, even though its use was a condition for having sex.
Assange’s lawyer and many of his supporters have claimed that this was a CIA conspiracy. Assange’s supporters often argue this because the women did not report the crime immediately and did not kick Assange out of the house. Unfortunately, this relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of rape and sexual assault.
Victims of rape sometimes experience self-doubt, and often fear stigma and shame. Many people, both men and women, are confused by the line between aggressive sex and sexual assault, and even those who understand the lines may hesitate. This is why most rapes are not reported at all. Statistics show that the number of victims seriously affected by trauma far outnumber cases where false accusations are made. These women were Wikileaks supporters, invited Assange to their homes, and at one point wanted to have sex with him, on their terms. They probably predicted that they would be publically vilified by Assange’s supporters.
The fact that this crime was reported at all beats the odds. In light of these facts, it is pure misogyny to criticize Assange’s victims for the delay.
There are other reasons to discredit conspiracy theories about the charges. The incident in question occurred in August of 2010, before Wikileak’s major cable dump. At the time, most Americans had never heard of Wikileaks and Wikileaks could not have been a serious priority for the CIA.
Assange would have you believe that the CIA managed to convince two of his former supporters, as well as the fairly liberal Swedish government, to turn on him without leaving a shred of evidence behind. Unfortunately, there is a long history of the media and the American public giving celebrity rapists the benefit of the doubt. Kate Harding, a journalist for Salon, effectively documented how the smears against Assange’s accusers began as soon as the story broke. Major media figures, such as Keith Olberman, were claiming Assange was set up even before the basic facts of the case were in. Sadly, rumors are still flying about the supposed CIA connection of one of Assange’s accusers. However, no credible media source has verified this “connection.”
It was first claimed by Israel Shamir, a Wikileaks member infamous for Holocaust denial and other anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Shamir claims that one of Assange’s accusers once worked with anti-Castro groups that are also supported by the CIA.
http://mic.com/articles/13088/julian-assange-wikileaks-embassy-standoff-5-myths-that-have-helped-make-assange-a-hero
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