BLAMING THE VICTIM: Jessica Wakeman:

Here are four prominent men who have been accused of sexual assault: former vice president Al Gore, filmmaker Roman Polanski, and football players Ben Roethlisberger and Lawrence Taylor. The accusations against each of them are so very different. But they share one commonality: each has received the benefit of the doubt — in some cases, a lot of doubt — that their accuser is a liar.

Well, it’s not like they’re Republican congressmen or anything. Of course, some accusers are liars and others are not. But who gets the benefit of the doubt depends on a lot of factors that don’t have much to do with the likelihood that they’re telling the truth.