Column: Bimbos, ‘Bottom Girls’ And The Ugly Reality Of Misogyny In Our Justice System

A “bimbo” who engaged in transactional sex, whose fear was faked, and who is now lying to make herself look better.

That’s how Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer recently described California first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, arguably one of the most prominent women in the state, who is slated to testify in coming weeks that she was raped by the despicable once-mogul in a hotel room during the height of his dominance in Hollywood.

If there is any uncertainty that misogyny is thriving and pervasive in our justice system, let the hatefulness of that depiction sink in.

No matter what the #MeToo movement did in broader society, when sexual assault victims step into a courtroom, they still are smeared as predators and perpetrators responsible for the violence done to them.

If Siebel Newsom’s treatment is shocking — though sadly expected — let me tell you about Allison, a poor Latina in Northern California facing a prison sentence after being brutally trafficked.

Allison is not her real name, because she’s too afraid to reveal it. Like Siebel Newsom, she’s headed to court soon, too — in a last-ditch attempt Tuesday to beg a judge to allow her to change her plea in a federal felony case from guilty to not so she can at least tell her side of the story.

“I want [people] to know about everything I went through,” she told me last week, her 11-month-old baby girl gurgling in the background. “I believe this is the only way they’re going to understand everything.”

Read the full story by Anita Chabria on The Los Angeles Times.

Category: Investigative Reporting