Should We Believe All Accusers?

This week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was eating at a restaurant with his wife, Heidi Cruz, when he was suddenly accosted by a group of “anti-racism activists.” These activists grilled Sen. Cruz on whether he believed the three-decade-old sexual abuse allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s pick to replace former Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. “Do you believe survivors, sir?” one of the protesters asked. The group then began chanting, “We believe survivors!” in increasingly vociferous tones. Eventually, Cruz and his wife were forced to leave the restaurant.

The question was, of course, improperly formed. It assumed facts not in evidence, namely that every allegation against Kavanaugh is true. By labeling all of those making claims “survivors,” the protesters simply asserted the conclusion of a case they had yet to make. The question isn’t whether one ought to believe “survivors” — of course one should. The question is whether everyone who alleges sexual abuse is, in fact, a survivor of sexual abuse.