Fuck these people. Seriously.
Fresh off the heels of the Republican effort to redefine rape, Georgia Republicans have begun their latest assault on women1: Representative Bobby Franklin (R-GA) has introduced a bill to change the state’s criminal and civil codes so that victims of rape, stalking, and domestic violence can no longer be called “victims” but must be called “accusers” until the defendant has been convicted.
Let that sink in for a minute. If your brain hasn’t exploded already, proceed with caution. I make no guarantees about the intacted-ness of your grey matter upon reading the rest of this post.
The downgrading of “victim” to mere “accuser” applies only to rape, as far as I can tell. If you’ve been mugged, or robbed, or defrauded, you’re still a victim. (And poor you, by the way.) If some person has violated you sexually without your consent, however, you’re just an accuser: we don’t quite believe you yet; we need to know how much you had to drink; we need to determine whether you were wearing slutty boots, fuck me heels, or booty shorts; we also need to know whether or not you’re just saying you were raped because he didn’t call you the next day.
According to the language of the bill, its purpose is: