The Mortal Cost of "Listen and Believe"

The accusations of sexual assault have arrived thick and fast over the last month, the abuse enacted by Harvey Weinstein has exposed a seedy underbelly of Hollywood that many of us have suspected has existed for decades. The legend of the casting couch is as old as Tinseltown itself, even referenced in numerous movies, ones listed as all-time greats contain allusions to such abuse of power. In the lead up to the infamous scene in The Godfather where the producer wakes to find the severed head of his prized horse in his bed, said producer laments to Tom Hagen on the fall from grace of one his most beautiful starlets whose head got turned by Vito Corleone's godson, Johnny Fontaine:

The endemic system of abuse is evident in attitudes like this and is a way for sociopathic people when they have the power to dominate sexually as they know they couldn't without. The open secret of abuse got implied for decades through media, film and literature, we now see the depths these murky allusions hide. Less Than Zero is one of my favourite books and in it the protagonist, Clay, witnesses various perversions, a snuff movie that turns on his friends, his old friend Julian that went missing now a prostitute used by closeted cinema execs to pay his drug debts. Worst of all is Clay's friend Rip who has a 12-year-old sex slave drugged and tied up, Clay flees the scene as his other friends move on the girl to rape her. Such insinuations in a book set in Los Angeles, in and around the Hollywood oeuvre, written 32 years ago, indicates the depth of the rot in Tinseltown. Not to mention the fact that Roman Polanski has never had to answer for the crime of raping a 13-year-old girl, having evaded justice in Europe and received standing ovations from the likes of Meryl Streep. Allegations of abuse now have reached UK shores and the onus here is focused on Westminster's corridors of power.

So far, the former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has resigned over alleged sexual abuse, Damian Green faces criticism for porn found on his work computer, and a variety of politicians across all parties have had abuse claims levied against them. One of these abuse allegations centred on Welsh Assembly member, Carl Sargeant, whose dismissal from the Welsh Assembly over "unspecified allegations" of misconduct led to Carl Sargeant committing suicide. According to the deceased politician's lawyer and family, after his dismissal by Welsh Assembly leader Carwyn Jones, Sargeant regularly contacted his former boss asking what the nature of the supposed abuse was. The only information he received were details of "unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping," and since this tragedy, people now call for Welsh Assembly leader, Carwyn Jones to face an investigation for his handling of the situation.

What is the reaction of the mainstream media to the fact that a politician killed himself regarding unspecified claims made against him? A cursory mention and piece from The Guardian which says women must still keep coming forward despite the tragedy, in other words: "what happened to Carl Sergeant sucks, but." The gross freak show of finger pointing, scapegoating and desire to squeeze onto a bandwagon has claimed someone's life although it is collateral damage to the demagogy of The Guardian (or The Independent that only raised Sergeant's suicide once). We have MPs and left-wing journalists screeching that more needs doing when the mere suggestion of wrongdoing is enough to end someone's career and life. Cultures of listen and believe hold danger for everyone because all people can end up at the mercy of its ire, from the witch trials of the 17th century to the People's Courts of Nazi Germany. The kind of mud that makes sexual abuse claims stick is one that rarely washes off, even when one is innocent and while it is essential that sexual abuse and those perpetrating it receive justice, acting on mere finger pointing alone leads to nothing but fear and unrest.