To Whom It May Concern,

I am a student here at The Capstone and I do not live under a rock, so I saw the accusations on November 12th about your alleged rape. I also saw one about an alleged rape victim that had admitted herself to DCH, Tuscaloosa's local hospital. But, for some reason, I focused more on your story. Mostly because I was more concerned that they did not have your rapist in custody, so I thought I was in danger, too.

Ya see, I pushed a victim's true story to the side to focus on yours. Not because I am selfless, but because I am selfish. I was more concerned with my safety since your "rapist" had not been caught and I should have been more empathetic towards the other rape victim of last weekend. I understand that you may have been in a sticky situation and you did not know how to get out of it. And I am not writing this article to bash you or say you are a bad person. Because you are not. I am writing this to say that you took the idea of "a woman's word before a man's" for granted. Your made-up story took the creditability away from so many true victims that suffer every day and hide their stories away because they are afraid that no one will believe them.

While you are not the only person to ever make this sort of thing up, you are the first one to directly affect me. From woman to woman, well actually, from a woman who has been in the situation that you made up, it hurts. No one can take away the pain of abuse, but they can tell you that you've cried wolf. That your story it not true and somehow you made it up in your head. See that is not true for me, but it is because women abuse their right to speak the truth that people doubt when a woman steps forward.

But, this article is not about me. It is about you. You somehow felt that you had to make up this elaborate story to get out of the situation you were in. And for that, I am sorry. I am sorry that you felt the need to lie to get out of it and you did not feel comfortable enough to speak the truth. Maybe you were afraid of judgment. Or embarrassed at what you had on. Maybe it was a place you should not have been at or somewhere with someone you had said you would stop seeing. Or maybe you just felt the need to lie. Whatever it is, I do not know the truth because I am not you. But I am here for you. I have open ears whenever you need to talk, because maybe I could help you understand that what you did was wrong, yes, but maybe help you see it through the eyes of a victim.

You are not a bad person. You are not what you did. You are a woman who thought she had to lie to get herself out of a situation. I feel empathy towards you. I am a little angry towards you, but that will pass. You are a woman, and you matter.

Sincerely,

Someone who cares for you.