The Angry Democrat welcomes guest writer Jennifer Brush, who shares her experience as a survivor of sexual violence and a retired U.S. diplomat, and her perspective on Vivek Ramaswamy’s attacks on Amy Acton. Guest op-eds reflect the views of their authors.
Ohio Deserves Better
Amy Acton will be our next governor. The Republican Party should never again promote Vivek Ramaswamy for any position. He is spending $4 million on a campaign promoting the idea that Amy Acton lied about her rape 40 years ago, and he is asking us to believe that Acton’s mother, who fled Ohio with her rapist husband and stayed with him until his death, did not lawfully lose custody of her children.
A man who promotes this sickening scenario should be governor of Ohio? Show him and his fellow Republicans you are better than this. None of the current Northeast Ohio Republican candidates, Jon Husted, David Joyce, or Max Miller, have denounced Ramaswamy’s behavior. Do not vote for them either.
The Statute of Limitations
In Ohio, it is estimated that one of every seven women will experience sexual assault in her lifetime. Ohio’s statute of limitations, 25 years, with a five-year extension for DNA evidence, is one of the most lenient in the country.
At an Ohio Senate hearing in 2020, then-Judiciary Committee Chairman John Eklund (currently a judge of the 11th District Court of Appeals) tabled Senate Bill 162, which asked for the statute of limitations to be lifted for rape. His rationale was that any trial after 25 years could lead to unfair trial conditions because witnesses’ recollections and evidence would be “dissipated.”
At least 28 states have overcome this concern and have no criminal statute of limitations for felony rape. Even if Amy Acton’s stepfather had been apprehended, he would only have been eligible to stand trial before she was 42 in the state of Ohio.
Amy Acton was brave to go public about her childhood abuse, though it is a matter of public record. She took actions recommended by health care professionals in seeking counseling and addressing her abuse head-on. Acton’s actions help open the discussion on sexual violence, prosecution, and treatment.
The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that between 70% and 88% of childhood sexual assaults go unreported. Acton reported her stepfather’s crime, survived, and dedicated her life to public health. But she did not get the justice she deserved.
My Own Experience
I was not so brave. In 1975, I was raped by a masked gunman and his accomplice while studying at Tulane University. I reported the rape and endured a rape kit procedure. New Orleans police bungled the investigation. There was no follow-up. I graduated and pursued a career in public service: diplomacy.
I was determined not to let this soul-searing experience interfere with my dreams. I spent 30 years serving the public as a U.S. diplomat in some of the world’s most challenging environments. I served at the U.S. Embassy during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, traveled to Kosovo under martial law, and collected rape testimony from conservative Muslim women who had survived their Serbian assailants.
Though tempted, I never divulged my own experience with sexual violence. I only wanted them to see the American flag waving behind my head as I worked to bring them justice. Much of my reporting was used with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Many Serbian military officers were indicted; most walk freely on the streets of Bosnia-Herzegovina, facing their victims on a regular basis. Bosnian laws make prosecution at this late date rare.
While serving as Organization for Security and Cooperation Head of Mission in Moldova, I worked to address Europe’s highest incidences of domestic violence and sex trafficking. Again, speaking with survivors, I was tempted to share my experience but did not want to “dilute” my presence as a senior international diplomat.
For my own professional advancement, I kept my personal experience a secret. Would sharing have helped these women triumph over their traumatic experiences? I will never know, but it haunts me.
Fifty Years After the Crime
My post-retirement anger rose to a pitch during the 2018 Brett Kavanaugh hearings when respected Professor Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault was dismissed.
Outraged, I wrote to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, singling out the Blasey Ford fiasco as proof of why so many women preferred to stay silent rather than endure the doubts and abuse the U.S. Senate dumped on Blasey Ford.
https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2018/09/the_price_and_the_lure_of_rema.html
My op-ed caught the attention of then-Cuyahoga Sex Crimes Coordinator Rick Bell. I spoke to his unit about my then-45-year-old assault, and he offered to check on the status with his counterpart in New Orleans.
A few months later, I received the astonishing phone call that my rape kit had been recovered along with the DNA and that my attacker was alive and living in New Orleans. There was no statute of limitations in Louisiana. Neither my memory of the attack nor the evidence had “dissipated.”
After five years of pretrial proceedings, COVID, and a mistrial, my assailant finally was sentenced to life without parole in 2025, 50 years after the crime.
Did the assault scar me for life? Yes. Did it stop me? No.
Beneath Contempt
A survivor’s worst nightmare is to be judged and, worse, doubted. That is what Vivek Ramaswamy is doing to Amy Acton. It is beneath contempt for any human being. But for someone who wants to be governor of Ohio?
Amazing that DNA evidence worked its magic. Happy for you.