After a New York jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing the advice columnist E Jean Carroll, sexual violence advocacy groups and experts are having mixed responses to the verdict, particularly in light of Trump’s public attacks against the decision and Carroll, and as top Republicans have rushed to his defense.
Despite the verdict and the jury awarding about $5m in compensatory and punitive damages to Carroll, Trump and a handful of Republican lawmakers have remained defiant: a move which sexual violence experts have condemned as risking re-traumatizing survivors.
But at the same time they have hailed Carroll’s victory as holding to account one of the most powerful men in the world. As Carroll launched her suit in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the trial has been seen as a validation – not just of her own quest for justice – but of a broader search for accountability for those who have been sexually abused.
The symbolism of the jury’s decision was powerful and could be inspirational for others to take action.
“This case highlights the importance of opening retrospective windows for survivors to come forward … It elevates how difficult it is to heal and attempt to pursue justice … Sexual violence is a deep trauma that takes time to heal and opening a retrospective window is reflective of that fact,” Tamika Payne, the acting director of the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told the Guardian.
“These windows are just the first step in addressing a realistic timeframe for survivors to come forward,” she added, making a point to note that New York’s recent Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window for survivors whose statute of limitations has expired to file a civil lawsuit, expires in November.
Laura Palumbo, a spokesperson for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, echoed similar sentiments.
“We hope [this case] can bring hope to survivors that it is possible for the truth to be heard even years after the assault has happened … Common challenges that we see survivors have … [include] … the way that trauma impacts the brain and how it can affect the level of detail and information they are able to recall about the assault,” Palumbo explained.
“It is really impactful to see that a survivor’s story and experience was heard and believed in this way,” she continued.
Similarly, America’s largest non-profit anti-sexual assault organization, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network said: “We thank E Jean Carroll, who will inspire survivors to come forward to tell their stories and face perpetrators. This case demonstrates that all perpetrators, no matter how powerful, can and will be held accountable.”
Anne Coughlin, a law professor at the University of Virginia specializing in criminal law, rape and feminist jurisprudence, hailed the verdict as a victory but also noted the chilling effect that Trump’s response may have on survivors.
“One can construe the verdict as a triumph for the rule of law – after a public trial, a jury found one of the most powerful men in the world responsible for sexual assault – and as a vindication of the right of women to be free from forced sex. The verdict sends the message that, contrary to Trump’s remarks on the Access Hollywood tape, celebrity men cannot ‘do anything’ to women,” Coughlin told the Guardian.
“But the run-up to the trial, the trial itself, and the aftermath are going to be chilling for survivors … [Carroll] is not the garden-variety survivor … in terms of the amount of support, clout and credibility that she was able to bring to the trial,” she said.
“Trump’s intransigence after the verdict, his vile comments about Carroll at the CNN Town Hall, and his supporters’ gleeful rejection of the significance of the verdict – all of these things may send a message to survivors about how costly it is for them to speak up and seek justice,” added Coughlin.
Following the verdict, Trump lashed out on his social media platform Truth Social, writing: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”
Meanwhile, a handful of Republican lawmakers have thrown their support behind Trump.
Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee condemned the verdict as the latest act in the “legal circus” surrounding Trump, telling Fox News: “I think we’ve seen President Trump under attack since before he became president … This has been going on for years. He’s been amazing in his ability to weather these sorts of attacks and the American public has been amazing in their support through it.”
The Florida senator Marco Rubio said: “That jury’s a joke, the whole case is a joke,” while the Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin said that he believed it was “very difficult” for Trump to get a fair trial “in any of these liberal states”, Politico reports.
Others appeared to dismiss the gravity of the case, with former vice-president Mike Pence saying:, “It’s just one more story focusing on my former running mate that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just don’t think it’s where the American people are focused.”
Sexual advocacy groups have condemned Trump’s denials and his Republican defenders, calling them dangerous and belittling to survivors.
“To say sexual violence is a horrific crime and we need all these resources, but then for there not to be a similar outrage when the response is how it is, is gaslighting,” Payne told the Guardian.
“Any form of sexual violence is the most intrusive, traumatizing violation that a person can experience and to politicize it diminishes the trauma that it is. And is one of the reasons that so many survivors choose not to report, not to seek civil remedies. Their response directly contributes to the stigma and silence that survivors endure,” she said.
Similarly, Palumbo criticized the politicization of Carroll’s trial and explained the silencing effect it may have on others.
“Even if there are a lot of focal supporters of them or a decision is in their favor, they can face a lot of public criticism, threats of harm … and that has such a silencing effect for other survivors.
“When a survivor’s story and experience is politicized in this way, our society takes away their voice and their power,” said Palumbo.
“It is very retraumatizing for survivors of sexual assault to hear other survivors be discredited … We as a society have to think about how we are responding to those survivors in public and private ways,” she said.
On Thursday, Carroll’s lawyers said that she may sue Trump for a third time after his “disgusting, vile, foul” comments about her on CNN. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers have filed an appeal against the $5m judgment awarded to Carroll.
With the legal battle between Carroll and Trump showing no signs of winding down anytime soon, Coughlin remains concerned about the efficacy of the law in protecting survivors.
In response to a question about what further legal steps should be taken in the case, Coughlin told the Guardian:
“This question assumes that law is the institution that can bring about the cultural changes necessary to protect women against sexual violence. Law cannot do that work alone, no way. To be sure, survivors must continue to report and bring cases, and, where appropriate, prosecutors must pursue criminal charges vigorously. But the whole point of the #MeToo movement is that the law has failed and is continuing to fail survivors. And the reactions to the verdict in the Carroll case show that we still have a ways to go.”
