WARN congratulates Ms. E. Jean Carroll in the successful outcome of her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump. This week, a jury comprised of six men and three women unanimously found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing Ms. Carroll in the 1990s.
Mr. Trump, who elected not to testify in court, or even put on a defense, has repeatedly asserted that Ms. Carroll was not his “type.” Yet this assertion, notwithstanding how utterly weak it is as a legal strategy, clearly misses the point. Sexual abuse is not about physical attraction, rather, it is about the abuser’s sense of power and entitlement. In that regard, sexual abuse is a vile and horrendous manifestation of bullying.
Understandably, the media is touting E. Jean Carroll’s court victory as a win for women. Yet I think that is a somewhat shortsighted perspective. It is (or should be) a win for men as well. Every man has a mother, and many men have wives, daughters, sisters, significant others, or female friends. We all want the special women in our lives to be safe from harm and abuse of any sort.
We want the special women in our lives to be treated with dignity, respect and equality. That’s what “REAL MEN” want for the women who are special to us, and for the women whom we know must be special to someone else in some capacity.
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Shenandoah Titus (Berkeley Law, 2023) is a DC licensed attorney and serves as Chief Counsel of the Whistleblower Anti-Bullying Resource Network (WARN). He is author of The Whistleblower: Defeating Bullies, Harassers and Management Gang Retaliation.