Alice Sebold's Lucky is a very graphic piece in which she chronicles her own experience after her first year of college at Syracuse. I have only read the first chapter as of writing this, but I can already tell that her case will be different than the cases we have read before in this class.
Sebold's attack was not, for instance, was not an acquaintance attack. She did not know her attacker (from what the first chapter describes, it seems like the classic example of the stranger in the bushes). Furthermore, her attacker was not the type we have seen, which was chiefly athletes and privileged males in their celebrity.
She was also wearing clothing that was far more modest than most. Additionally, Sebold makes sure she describes her clothing so the reader knows that she is already defying the stereotypes. She describes her outfits as frumpy, and that description might be accurate. Sebold was wearing regular pants, a button up oxford shirt, and a cable-knit sweater. That is not exactly the average party-going outfit of the college freshman.
Additionally, Alice Sebold was not partying. When she was raped, it was the last day of school. She had been over at a friend's just spending time together and taking pictures. The rest of the school, including her friends, were out partying and drinking. Sebold wasn't; she might be described as more of the quintessential bookworm. She was merely walking through the park. The fact that she was not drinking or partying I imagine will be a boon to her case. Defense attorneys or police will not be able to use that against her. She will remember almost everything and the details, so her story will (likely) not have as many gaps.
Another thing that police or defense will not be able to use against her is the fact that she was a virgin. Sebold is very graphic in the description of her attack, and as she describes the exchange, she describes how she was so inexperienced that she did not know how to perform some of the acts that the rapist wanted her to. This lack of other partners and experiences means that the defense (if her case goes to court, which thus far I have not learned) cannot use any of the "slut-shaming" tactics that they have in other cases. They can't assert that Sebold merely wanted to shield herself from public opinion because she was cheating.
Moreover, Sebold's case will - I expect - be buttressed by the fact that she was brutally beaten. Even the nurses who were doing her rape kit noted this. Since Sebold was clearly abused in the worst possible manner, the police or anybody else could not assert that she wanted or was inviting this attack. Sebold also thought that she might be able to evade telling her mother about her attack, but it was clear by her appearance that this was not possible. She was bruised, had cuts, was at one point choked, so it was not able to be hidden.
One more notable aspect of this case that will likely be different than the ones we have read is that Sebold went straight to people who could help her and reported the rape. There was no vacillation. Probably due to the violence of the attack, she immediately knew that she had been raped. Sebold passed the RA on duty in her dorm, and he immediately knew something was wrong, but she did not tell him. Then she went to the only one of her friends who was around in the dorm, but she passed out when she heard the news. Because she could not help her, Sebold walked right back down the stairs and asked the RA to call the police. Once he did that, the process for rape victims began and she was taken away. This all occurred only an hour or two after the attack, which is different than the other women waiting to report. This book will be interesting also in that Sebold chronicles the thoughts that she had during the attack and afterwards.
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