Law Commons^™

How The Boogeyman Saved Brett Kavanaugh, Cathren Page

Articles

We love to hate these boogeymen. When the societal narrative creates these invisible boogeymen, people can pour their rage against sexual abuse into these faceless antagonists. At the same time, the enraged survivors and protectors avoid conflicts with family, neighbors, colleagues, and social acquaintances who might actually commit or enable sexual abuse. We can dodge sticky questions regarding how a churchgoer, a judge, or an Ivy Leaguer could have committed a heinous act. The survivors can avoid all the victim-blaming backlash, threats of violence, and invalidation that accompanies reporting a sexual offense. Moreover, having less power on their own, survivors …

Tangled Up In Knots: How Continued Federal Jurisdiction Over Sexual Predators On Indian Reservations Hobbles Effective Law Enforcement To The Detriment Of Indian Women, Suzianne D. Painter-Thorne

Articles

Consequently, tribal lands have become safe havens for sexual predators, who can commit their offenses with little fear of prosecution. As Fort Peck Tribal Chairman A.T. “Rusty” Stafne explained, “Our people are afraid because there are persons committing crimes against us at night and in broad daylight....We have criminals that are simply unafraid of prosecution.” Indeed, “[t]o a sexual predator, the failure to prosecute sex crimes against American Indian women is an invitation to prey with impunity.”

Congress has responded to the epidemic of reservation crime with the Tribal Law and Order Act27 (TLOA). But, as this article explains, the …