Pop star Kesha has made headlines recently with the decision by a New York judge stating that she could not be released from her music contract with Sony and her producer, Dr. Luke. The "Tik Tok" signer made allegations that the producer had abused her both sexually and emotionally since she was 18, and asked that Sony release her from her contract. After an ongoing legal battle, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied her request for injunction, and the singer will need to continue her contract with Sony, which requires that she produce six more albums under their label.
Outside the courtroom, anger and passion has sparked Kesha's fans to start a petition, asking Sony to keep her from working with her abuser. While Sony has agreed to let her work with another producer, Kesha fears they will not promote her music.
The court decision is not only a setback for the signer, but for the millions of individuals out there who have experienced this level of abuse and have not been able to do anything about it. The outcry from fans of the singer is only a small portion of the evidence that this is a much bigger issue than a personal problem in the workplace. Due to lack of any physical evidence of abuse, Kesha herself is put into question on whether the allegations against the superstar producer are even real.
These are the problems with this kind of violence today. Date rape has become such a common factor in society, yet not much is being done to prevent it, or help victims get justice after the fact. There is no call in to question whether or not this producer should be investigated or even locked up for his crimes, and Kesha who is the victim in all this cannot even get away from her contract with the man who has abused her.
According to a University of Sciences study, 42 percent of women who are date raped do not tell anybody. Date rape is difficult to convict someone of, and getting proper evidence is not the easiest feat.
Kesha's outcome has been a setback from the progress that has been attempted to try and stop this very common, very damaging crime. In many cases, it is assumed that celebrities get special treatment and can usually have their problems solved for them. Yet, in this situation, where the celebrity actually is the victim, no special treatment has been given, and she must still face future contact with her attacker in order to keep from being sued, or worse. For many victims, this has been a huge loss, and just proves even more how difficult it is to be able to come forward and seek justice for those who wronged them.
