Opinion

Stop blaming Hutchinson for alleged Giuliani groping


All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.

In her newly published memoir, Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide, alleges Rudy Giuliani sexually assaulted her on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Some have raised questions about why Hutchinson has chosen to disclose these allegations over two and a half years after the alleged incident.

Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence offers insight into why Hutchinson’s decision to come forward with her claims of the Giuliani assault at this time is not as surprising as it may seem.

To those questioning why Hutchinson didn’t fight back: Freezing when someone is sexually assaulting you is extremely common, especially in workplace sexual harassment situations such as this.

Hutchinson’s livelihood was on the line here. Should she have pushed back, it could have been very bad for her. And also, her bodily autonomy is not exactly something her boss, a known rapist, supports. And per my recollection, and also hers, attorney John Eastman was in that tent, and he watched it go down and did absolutely nothing. So it’s not like Hutchinson had an army of support behind her if she chose to throw a bow or two at Rudy’s nose.

So Hutchinson did have around her, however, a lot of chaos. She’s describing being sexually assaulted during the midst of an attempted coup. I’d like to think that the situation made it even more difficult to respond in the moment.

So those questioning Hutchinson’s response or lack thereof, they’re simply down to victim-blame, or they really just hate women. Either way, it’s a joke to not acknowledge the difficulty of the situation Hutchinson was in. And to those saying that she put herself in that situation, as she should have known Giuliani was a predator…well, you, too, are all aboard the victim-blaming train.