Victim Faces Jail Time While More Chicago Cops Commit Sexual Assault

Tiawanda Moore was sexually harassed and assaulted by a Chicago police officer. Want to guess who's facing the possibility of up to 15 years jail time?

If you guessed the victim, congratulations: you're correct (and probably very jaded).

As part of our Sexual Assault Action Week at Change.org, we'd like to shine a glaring spotlight on sexual violence perpetrated by law enforcement. Tiawanda is not the only Chicago woman to allege sexual assault by a police officer -- Anna North writes at Jezebel that "claims of police misconduct have been somewhat common in Chicago recently." In another case that hit the headlines earlier this month, as many as three Windy City cops were fingered for the rape of a woman they offered a ride home, and at least one has a prior record of sexual misconduct while on duty.

Chicago is hardly the only place where police look too much like the criminals they're supposed to defend us from (although it sports a particularly poor track record at the moment). In my own city, New York, there's currently a high-profile trial under way, complete with heart-wrenching testimony from the survivor about her rape by men in blue uniforms.

Police get their paycheck from taxpayers to protect us, not sexually assault us. (Duh.) Because of the role they play in our society and their position of authority, law enforcement should be the last place where sexual violence is a problem. Yet instead of making rooting sexual assault out of the force the highest priority, you have a case like Tiawanda's, where a victim who wanted nothing more than to protect other women is arrested by police and deemed worthy of prosecution by the county attorney.

Tiawanda went down to the station to report being propositioned and groped by an officer to stop him from preying on other women, and her terrible "crime" was using her Blackberry to record the illegal and irresponsible refusal by law enforcement to accept her report. With her trial scheduled to start May 3 -- that's next week -- Tiawanda needs your help now to call upon Cooks County State Attorney Anita Alvarez to drop the retaliatory charges. It's vital for State Attorney Alvarez to send a message that victims will not be intimidated or threatened with jail time to keep them from reporting cops' crimes against their bodies.

Oh, and the police officer who groped Tiawanda and has been so conveniently forgotten? The Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Women petition says that it's time to stop wasting resources going after his victim, and start using them to expedite the investigation into his crime -- which has dragged on for months with zero discernible progress or actual investigating.

Especially if you're jaded by too much knowledge of how our culture treats sexual assault victims, take this opportunity to push for change -- not just for Tiawanda, but also for any other victim of police assault who might be afraid to come forward in a hostile environment.

Keep up-to-date with the Change.org SAAM campaign and opportunities for you to take action on our Women's Rights homepage and blog, on Twitter @changewomen or #saamchange, and on our Facebook page.

Photo credit: Ian Lamont