Tell Rep. Fattman: Apologize and stop supporting policies that endanger women's lives.
What do you call someone who would take the side of a rapist over the woman he sexually assaulted? Apparently, you would call him Massachusetts State Representative Ryan Fattman.
Here's how a journalist described a shocking exchange he had with Rep. Fattman.
Asked if he [Fattman] would be concerned that a woman without legal immigration status was raped and beaten as she walked down the street might be afraid to report the crime to police, Mr. Fattman said he was not worried about those implications.
"My thought is that if someone is here illegally, they should be afraid to come forward," Mr. Fattman said. 1
Tell Rep. Fattman: Apologize and stop supporting policies that endanger women's lives.
Since the article quoted above was published, Rep. Fattman has made statements attempting to beat back the predictable firestorm of criticism for voicing such a callous and inhumane position. But he has not apologized or made a clear statement that repudiates what he said. 2
And indeed, Rep. Fattman's comment that undocumented women raped and beaten as they walked down the street "should be afraid to come forward," is simply a cruel but logical implication of the conservative policies he actively supports.
The quote that sparked this controversy came while Rep. Fattman was criticizing Governor Deval Patrick's decision not to participate in the controversial federal "Secure Communities" immigration program (also known as S-Comm).
In addition to concerns about S-Comm leading to racial profiling, Governor Patrick had explicitly raised concerns that S-Comm would discourage undocumented immigrants from reporting violent crime, thereby hindering law enforcement efforts and endangering public safety.3
S Comm has led to, for example, domestic violence victims being deported after reporting their assault.4 So under S-Comm, a woman who came forward after being raped and beaten could indeed risk being deported after doing so. And Rep. Fattman is fine with that, even if that effectively means handing her attacker a "get out of jail free" card.
Rep. Fattman needs to apologize and to stop supporting policies that endanger women's lives.
Rep. Fattman claims that since some immigrants are in this country "illegally," we shouldn't worry about the consequences of deporting a woman who comes forward after being brutalized on the street.
But it's never okay to condone violence against women. And like it or not, unauthorized migrants are a part of our communities. We should not be inviting criminals to prey upon anyone, regardless of their immigration status. Doing so is not only incompatible with our values, it also makes us all less safe.
Tell Rep. Fattman: Apologize stop supporting policies that endanger women's lives.
Notes:
1"Immigrant checks urged," John J. Monahan , Worcester Telegraph & Gazette, June 8, 2011.
2"Mass. GOPer: Undocumented Women Should Live in FearM," Tim Murphy, Mother Jones, June 9, 2011.
3"Patrick says he won't sign Secure Communities program," Maria Sacchetti and Noah Bierman, Boston Globe, June 6, 2011.
4"Abused and Deported: Immigrant Women Face Double Disgrace," Pilar Marrero (translated by Elena Shore), La Opinión, March 17, 2011
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"It's never okay to condone violence again women. So I am disturbed by your statement that an immigrant woman who is raped and beaten while walking down the street should be afraid to report her assault if she's undocumented.
When you support policies that discourage women who are sexually assaulted or who witness sexual assault from coming forward, you're making all women less safe. You should apologize and stop supporting policies that endanger women's lives."
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