Again and Again: Undermining Women’s Credibility
In current broadcasting vernacular it has become acceptable to say a powerful man is 鈥渃redibly accused of sexual assault鈥�. However, when Stephen Colbert (I鈥檓 a big fan!!) said it of the US president this last week, it clicked. That鈥檚 bullshit. Coming out of Colbert鈥檚 mouth, which I would generally consider feminist, it was just wrong.
This use of the word 鈥渃redibly鈥� assumes that a prominent category, if not the default position, of sexual assault accusations is that they are incredible. Using the word 鈥渃redibly鈥� assumes that women lie about sexual assault unless, sometimes, they are deemed 鈥渃redible鈥� by the male dominated criminal justice system. You don鈥檛 say of a thief that they are credibly accused of their crime, you say they are accused鈥ull stop. A murderer? Accused. Money launderer? Accused. Rapist? Oh no don鈥檛 worry he was 鈥渃redibly鈥� accused. No other crime has this qualification of accusations.
This language perpetuates the patriarchal and societal held position that rape is overstated, that women lie and accuse men for some (imaginary) benefit to themselves, and that rape victims are not to be believed as other victims of crime are.
This is harmful and sexist messaging. To Mr. Colbert and the mainstream broadcast media I say, 鈥淐ut it out.鈥�
Credibly Yours,
Leslie Brunanski
MA Candidate
Gender, Sexuality, and Women鈥檚 Studies
51社区黑料, Vancouver, British Columbia
Extending the Conversation
鈥淐redibly Accused鈥�: Subversive to or Reinforcement of Legal Power Regimes?
by Nerida Bullock, PhD Student
To the best of my knowledge, the term 鈥渃redibly accused鈥� came to public consciousness between 2017-2019 when the Catholic Church started investigating widespread abuse perpetrated by Catholic Priests.
鈥淐redibly accused鈥� is a designation that resides outside legal discourse. Legal adjudications rely on a particular set of criteria to assess whether a crime has taken place. Keep in mind that the legal system is a patriarchal enterprise that has not been friendly to women, the poor, racialized populations, etc. In fact, the first rape laws under English Common Law were actually property offences鈥攖he act of rape damaged another man鈥檚 property (his wife, daughter, sister, etc.)
鈥淐redibly accused鈥� is a language rooted in church investigations as opposed to legal investigations. The criteria for 鈥渃redibly accused鈥� have been left largely undefined by the Catholic Church, but it is a way of saying, 鈥渨e believe that it is true that an abuse has taken place even if it doesn鈥檛 meet the threshold of a criminal conviction.鈥�
I find Colbert鈥檚 use of the phrase 鈥渃redibly accused,鈥� quite subversive and provocative because he uses it as a way of saying 鈥渢his person is a rapist鈥� without invoking problematic legal rhetoric. Colbert (who is Catholic) circumvents the burdens women face in 鈥減roving鈥� a criminal threshold while protecting CBS (his network) from libel litigation. 鈥淐redibly accused鈥� is a non-legal way of saying, 鈥渉ey, any reasonable person would think this guy is guilty as fuck, even if a criminal conviction has not happened.鈥�
As Leslie highlights in her blog, the discourse on rape in Western culture is predicated upon the assumption that the perpetrator is innocent, and the victim is lying until proven otherwise. Victims have the nearly impossible burden of 鈥減roving鈥� their truth.
I think the commentary on 鈥渃redibly accused鈥� opens up a larger conversation on the patriarchal (and racialized) genealogy of law鈥� universal justice is precariously sensitive to systems of oppression.
One final thought to add to this complex consideration鈥� Can 鈥渃redibility鈥� be disentangled from gender and race? In contrast to White women accusing a White American president of rape, consider the May 2020 incident of a White woman鈥檚 allegations that a Black man (who was birdwatching) was threatening her in New York鈥檚 Central Park. By virtue of the accuser鈥檚 race and gender (white, female), she instinctively knew her false allegation would have enough credibility to have police dispatched. Video from the accused phone proved that the aggressor was in fact, the White woman.
Does Colbert present an opportunity to side-step legal thresholds by his deployment of 鈥渃redibly accused鈥�? Or is it equally troublesome? Leslie鈥檚 post reminds us that language, especially in matters of gender-based violence, is always a power-sensitive conversation.