To those who question why Tara Reade didn't go to police after being sexually assaulted by Biden in 1993-
A thread:

25 years before #MeToo and sexual assault was not taken seriously

Police were not trained in sexual assault then and often dissuaded victms from pursuing cases

Joe Biden was a powerful Senator who could have destroyed any chances Tara had of ever working in DC again- her dream

I have been a director at 2 rape crisis centers on Long Island, in counties with a total population of 2.8 million.

I have trained police, prosecutors and judges in both counties.

My experience is that, although there has been many gains with Special Victims detectives, regular patrol officers often dismiss and dissuade victims from pursuing charges, especially when there is a lack of physical evidence (most sexual assault cases)

It was well known in 1993 and still is today that women who come forward with cases of sexual assault are subjected to character assassination and horrendous attacks by defense attorneys and sometimes by the community, esp if their perpetrator is well known and well liked.

It is more common than not that a victim will either not come forward, or will wait years, or decades, to do so.

After Weinstein story broke, the hotline at the rape crisis center I worked at rang constantly. Many called about cases that happened years or decades earlier.

It was the birth of #MeToo that gave them space to come forward.

Lastly, we don't get to tell survivors if, when or how they should come forward. We don't get to tell them whether they should file a police report or not.

We also don't get to call brave survivors like Rose McGowan @rosemcgowan mentally ill, a traitor or a Trump supporter simply because she dares to call out the Dem party who once by #MeToo for now enabling rapsists, sexual assaulters and harassers.

Questioning a survivor's timing or method for coming forward, and demeaning other survivors who support her, comes from a position of privilege and a gross misunderstsnding of the effects of sexual trauma on ppl's lives. Do better.
#BelieveSurvivors #WeBelieveTaraReade