http://csmonitor.com/2003/0729/p11s02-coop.html
In the crime of rape, it is time that journalists named the accuser as well as the accused, Geneva Overholser writes in a Christian Science Monitor op-ed.
Overholser, a veteran editor and longtime advocate of naming accusers in sexual assault cases, lays out her argument in the piece.
She writes, “Naming names is an essential part of (journalism’s) commitment to accuracy, credibility, and fairness. This practice frequently brings pain to individuals; truth-telling does have its victims. My own view is that recovery from difficult times is, like journalism, abetted by openness and hampered by secrecy. But the larger point is this: Openness serves society as a whole. It serves enlightenment and understanding and progress. And it serves the criminal-justice system.”