USA: Matratzenfrau verstrickt sich immer mehr in Widersprüche

Die liberale Feministin Cathy Young wurde von der feministischen Fraktion unter starken Beschuss genommen, nachdem sie den der Vergewaltigung bezichtigten Columbia-Studenten Paul Nungesser seine Version der Dinge darstellen ließ. Sie war die Frau, die "einem Vergewaltiger eine Plattform gibt", während es zu den Unstimmigkeiten in den Schilderungen der angeblich vergewaltigten Studentin Emma Sulkowicz hieß, es gebe nun mal "kein perfektes Opfer". Cathy Young hat sich nicht kirre machen lassen, sondern sich die Argumente, die Sulkowicz entlasten sollten, näher angeschaut:

A young woman who was brutally raped two days ago agrees to bring girls to the rapist’s party and jokes about it? I fully understand that a traumatized victim of a violent attack can behave irrationally, but too many things here strain credulity — including the fact that Sulkowicz seeks to discuss what she has described as, essentially, a psychopathic motiveless attack by meeting with the assailant in person.

Sulkowicz’s annotations add another bizarre wrinkle to the story. Her account of the day after the alleged attack includes the line, "I talk to one of my girlfriends, who explains that it was rape." Maybe it makes sense that an Ivy League sophomore who is a leader in a freshman pre-orientation program would need it explained to her that it’s rape if you are pinned down and anally penetrated while you scream "no," after being violently choked and hit in the face. But it’s noteworthy that in at least two interviews, in May and in September, Sulkowicz seems to clearly say that she told no one about the attack in its immediate aftermath and didn’t want to talk to anyone (which also seems at odds with her present claim that she wanted to talk it out with Nungesser). If Sulkowicz did in fact tell a friend that Nungesser raped her the day after the incident, that would be a crucial piece of corroboration (especially if the friend saw her in person and saw bruises on her arms and/or neck). According to both Nungesser and his student advocate, no friend of Sulkowicz’s testified at the hearing to offersuch evidence (which, if available, would have almost certainly ensured a finding in Sulkowicz’s favor). What’s more, how credible is it that after being told of such a frighteningly violent assault, Sulkowicz’s friend would not urge her to report it?

Cathy Young führt einige weitere neu hinzugekommene Unstimmigkeiten auf, bevor sie ihr Fazit über die Art und Weise zieht, wie bizarr die Debatte über Vergewaltigungen an US-Unis inzwischen geworden ist. In diesem Fazit heißt es unter anderem:

Nungesser’s father, Andreas Probosch, told me that Nungesser had a hard time finding a student who would agree to act as his official "supporter" (advisor/advocate) during the process. Meanwhile, when I asked Nungesser about his relationship with Columbia faculty, he told me that he is close to two professors who privately fully support him and believe in his innocence — but will not speak to the media on his behalf even if granted anonymity, fearing that they may be identified and that taking his side will make them campus pariahs. If true, this is appalling — but, unfortunately, not surprising.

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