Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr., penned an op-ed in the New York Daily News this weekend affirming that rape is rape, and underscoring the realities of the D.A.’s Office’s rape prosecutions.
D.A. Bragg wrote, “Too frequently, sex crimes are only covered if they involve a celebrity, or if they conjure the deep-seated horror of a random attack by a stranger who jumps from the shadows. […] But so-called stranger rapes comprise less than half of our docket. The ink and airtime dedicated to those disturbing cases is wholly disproportionate to the rape cases we see, tragically, on a regular basis. And crucially, I believe, that hurts our efforts to encourage survivors to come forward about these consistently under-reported crimes.”
Underscoring the facts about rape cases, D.A. Bragg stated, “Sexual assault and rape are typically committed by someone the survivor knows. Sometimes that means an acquaintance from their neighborhood or workplace. Sometimes that means a date. Often, that means a current or former intimate partner — which is exactly why, when I created the Manhattan district attorney office’s first Special Victims Division, we combined our sex crimes and domestic violence practices into one Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau.”
He continued, “Rape takes many forms which rarely make headlines. I want to affirm to survivors that my office’s Special Victims Division knows that, and knows that rape is rape. Whether it happens in a long-term consensual relationship. Whether it takes years to come forward. Whether money exchanges hands. Whether alcohol or substances were involved. Simply put, rape is rape.”
D.A. Bragg concluded, “I am consistently inspired by the survivors that [come forward] to secure justice in their case and, as we consistently hear, to stand up for other survivors. I want survivors to know that regardless of the form it takes, rape is rape. And we are here to help.”
Read the full op-ed here.
The D.A.’s Office’s Special Victims Division and Survivor Services Bureau have dedicated, trauma-informed staff ready to assist. Please call us at 212-335-9373. Additional resources can be found on our website.
###