Claims by Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick’s law firm that they will work to “discredit” victims is an example of why 80% of all sexual assaults nationally are never reported, one of the state’s leading advocates for victims of sexual assault said.
“We need to be very clear … Bramnick’s law firm is relying on harmful, lazy stereotypes about survivors of sexual violence. And let us be even clearer: this is the type of conduct that makes survivors stay silent,” said Patricia Teffenhart, the executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Teffenhart suggested that Bramnick appears to assume that “all survivors of sexual violence are lying.”
“We know that’s not true — overwhelmingly, research has shown that false reports are the exception, not the rule,” Teffenhart said.
Bramnick’s choice of language was most egregious, Teffenhart said.
“Despite what Bramnick’s law firm will have you believe, sexual violence isn’t about ‘hurt feelings,” said Teffenhart. “We are talking about severe emotional, physical, psychological, and financial harm. It’s not about someone feeling jilted ‘over breaking up.’”
According to Teffenhart, it doesn’t matter if an individual accused of assault ‘believed the sexual act was consensual – if they were causing someone harm.
“Sexual violence is not about sex – it’s about power and control,” Teffenhart explained. “It inherently removes autonomy and silences the victim-survivor. And too often, that silencing effect is seen throughout society as a whole.”
Bramnick’s beliefs about sexual assault could impact his ability to get re-elected in what is already considered a tough race in the politically competitive 21st district.
“We have 1.8 million survivors of contact sexual violence living in the state of New Jersey, some of whom undoubtedly live in his district,” Teffenhart said.
The New Jersey Globe first reported claims by the Bramnick law firm that they would seek to discredit accusers.
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