Ep. 111: Tale As Old As Time—Survivor Accuses Politician of Sexually Assaulting Her at 18, Everyone Says "Shhhhhhh"

How many times have we heard this tale? A woman accuses a man in power of assaulting or abusing her. She is immediately put on trial, accused of "ruining a good man's reputation." His assault is swept under the rug and the survivor is called a man-hating feminist (which is not inaccurate and for good reason).  Chanel Miller. Amber Heard. Blake Lively E. Jean Carroll. Christine Blasey Ford. And today, Anne Hauben. She bravely reached out to Toxic to let us know she was ready to talk about what happened to her at 18. She's now in her 50s.  Before everyone says, "BuT WhY nOw?!" be aware that less than 23% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to authorities, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The reasons? See above list. Those women went through hell after they came forward. What 18-year-old is eager to sign up for that? What 18-year-old is even 100 percent sure of what constitues rape? Guess what, nonconsent = rape. And that's what Anne says happened during a high school trip to Bermuda. The man in question? A city councilman named Ward Hamilton of Melrose, Massachusetts, a small suburb of Boston.  Anne thought the voters might want to know what kind of man they were voting for. Turns out, that was an inconvenience for them more than anything. Anne was called crazy. A liar. Told to take her supposed trauma elsewhere.  So she came to Toxic. Because we'll believe her. Because we know women don't lie about this kind of thing for funsies.  And we also believe in holding men accountable.  Welcome to Anne's story. Which is also E. Jean's story. Which is also Christine's story.  This episode is a little long, but worth it.  Also, COMING SOON, you'll be able to hear some of the more recent Toxic episodes, including this one, on YouTube. So, stay tuned.  Your review of Toxic would help immensely. 3.8 what?! The trolls are coming for us -- please help combat them with a quick click on the five stars below.  We want to hear from you. Do you have a story we need to discuss or a guest we should feature? Visit us at ToxicThePodcast.com and share your story. If you're experiencing abuse or domestic violence, please reach out to someone you trust. You can also connect with a trained advocate near you through DomesticShelters.org.