My experience with sexual harassment in the Scala community

I can't imagine a situation where I would spread an accusation against someone I don't know based on the word of other people I don't know. I'm frankly a bit confused why this is controversial - it seems like common sense to me, and nobody I know in real life has ever done this. (Of course, this is symmetric, so I wouldn't disbelieve the accusation either.)

There has been a common theme in this thread that the justice system should just sort it all out. Leaving aside all the issues of jurisdiction and citizenship that make a prosecution vanishingly unlikely here, the criminal justice system is just not cut out for dealing with cases of rape.

To prove it beyond reasonable doubt would require a level of evidence that is simply not present here. And in the UK, a suspect is only charged with a crime in 1.4% of reported cases[0]. This is why its so sickening when people gloat that some defendant in a sexual abuse case was found not guilty; it really doesn't mean they didn't commit the crime.

But even though the criminal justice system is not cut out for this kind of thing, that doesn't mean we have no other recourse. The reason the standard for evidence is so high is because the system would otherwise be vulnerable to abuse, and the consequences of wrongful conviction (loss of liberty or even execution) are so grave. Whether or not you agree that this very high standard is justified (I don't), it is clear that the consequences of publicly calling out this behaviour are less serious. Social ostracisation within a very specific community isn't such a big deal, but the direct benefits (protecting women through awareness) may be almost as good.

Whether or not you agree with the above, it's definitely an issue we need to think about. All it takes is someone close to you going through this to realise that the pre-MeToo system is inadequate. This new one isn't ideal, but it's a million times better. If you can think of a way to make things better then I want to hear it.

[0]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48095118

Seriously? How often does this happen? Unless you are a terrible person, I doubt anyone would try to ruin someone's life like this.

This lady seems to have her head screwed on. Her post doesn't seem to me like she's trying to cause a witch hunt and it seems like she's sharing her story in a logical and sensible manner.

I'll gladly read the post from another woman defending John Pretty, but I doubt that's going to be forthcoming.

Bummed I had to scroll this far into the thread to see some reason.

This is horrifying if it did happen but I don't know Yifan and I don't know Jon Pretty nor the trustworthiness of either.

It's disturbing to see HN readers jump to conclusions so quickly without proper evidence. If we continue to reduce our capacity for assessment of a situation to individual anecdotal accounts what kind of world will we live in 5 years from now?

"Almost certainly guilty," huh? Citations please? Are you talking about a DIFFERENT "Central Park Five" than the ones who were exonerated? Or are you just ironically quoting Trump? Do you agree with him that hate is what we need if we're gonna get something done?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_jogger_case

>From the outset the case was a topic of national interest, with the commentary on social issues evolving as the details emerged. Initially, the case led to public discourse about New York City's perceived lawlessness, criminal behavior by youths, and violence toward women. After the exonerations, it became a high-profile example of racial profiling, discrimination, and inequality in the media and legal system. All five defendants subsequently sued the City of New York for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination and emotional distress; the City settled the suit in 2014 for $41 million.

https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-central-park-five/convictio...

>On December 19, 2002, Justice Charles J. Tejada of the Supreme Court of the State of New York granted a motion to vacate the thirteen-year-old convections in the infamous case. He did so based on new evidence: a shocking confession from a serial rapist, Matias Reyes, and a positive DNA match to back it up. A year later, the men filed civil lawsuits against the City of New York, and the police officers and prosecutors who had worked toward their conviction. In 2014, they settled that civil case for $41 million dollars. Despite their exoneration, the police and prosecutors involved in the case maintain that they were guilty of the crime.

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-48609693

>Five black and Hispanic boys, aged between 14 and 16, would be found guilty and jailed for the crime.

>They became known as the Central Park Five.

>But they never committed the crime.

[...]

>The role of Donald Trump

>New York in the 80s and 90s was much more dangerous than it is today.

>Race relations were strained - especially when it came to the police.

>Meanwhile, Donald Trump - then a New York property mogul - seemed convinced the teens were guilty.

>He spent a reported $85,000 (around £138,000 today) on four full-page adverts in New York newspapers titled: "Bring Back The Death Penalty, Bring Back Our Police!".

>He wrote: "I want to hate these murderers and I always will. I am not looking to psychoanalyse or understand them, I am looking to punish them."

>In an interview with CNN at the time, he said: "Maybe hate is what we need if we're gonna get something done."