An Inclusive Litany

5/25/02

Colbert I. King in the Washington Post, May 25, 2002:
What happened to Chandra Levy is not about the tribulations of a white middle-class kid from way out West who, in some strange twist of fate, ran into harm's way while interning in the nation's capital. Chandra Levy's story is an older and more familiar one. And it is a reality that we would just as soon pretend does not exist.

At bottom, it's about violence against women. The crime scene in Rock Creek Park is not the last word on that evil—not in this city anyway.

Forget all that talk about this being a new day for women, that in 2002 women in the District of Columbia are no longer treated differently or looked down upon because of their sex. Don't believe for one second that the era of abusive partners working overtime on the minds—and bodies—of women is over....

Guess how many reports of violence against women were made to the D.C. police in 2000. I'm talking about domestic violence, sexual assaults, desperate calls for civil protection orders. Ready? More than 22,500.

That's right. Violence against women made up about 50 percent of all reported violent crimes to the D.C. police in that year. If those numbers take your breath away, they should....