Why Taylor Swift’s Sexual Assault Trial is Significant

As of yesterday, Taylor Swift won her civil case against former radio DJ David Mueller who sexually assaulted her during a meet and greet in 2013.

The case lasted for six days and during those six days, Swift and her attorney Doug Baldridge made it know that she wants to fight the case, not just for herself but for everyone else who has been victimized. In doing so, Swift chose to countersue for only $1, while Mueller originally sued for $3M.

This victory for Swift was significant, empowering, and inspiring for everyone who paid attention. Someone with bravery and courage stood up to someone who touched her inappropriately and didn’t back down. She stood her ground, proving to the world that she’s not a victim and no one else has to be either.

This trial is one of the most significant trials in our lifetime. Here’s why:

It Highlights Sexual Assualt and its Lack of Reporting

While the incident became public in 2015, Swift didn’t want it to become public. She wanted to keep it private because victims of sexual assault never want these kinds of incidents to be out in the open. For them, it’s embarrassing and who wants to relive it?

It only became public due to Mueller suing Swift for $3M. After it was out in the open, Swift decided to countersue for $1. This is a powerful dollar. But we’ll get back to that later.

In court, Andrea Swift, the singer’s mom stated that she didn’t go to the police when her daughter first told her about the incident because: ” did not want this event to define her life,” she says. ” did not want her to have to live through the endless memes and gifs that tabloid media and internet trolls decided to come up with – doctoring the pictures… and making her relive this awful moment over and over again”

Her lawyer said something similar in the court room, saying the superstar wanted to keep things discreet and private. Rightfully so, but even if she chose to continue doing that, she would be doing what thousands of men and women do every day.

Did you know that two out of three sexual assaults go unreported? Why won’t people report sexual assault? Many fear that others will shame them or won’t believe them. Some fear that the police won’t even help or perhaps, peers around them will victim shame.

We’ve seen it a lot with this case. Many shame Swift without knowing the facts. Other say that she’s just doing this for attention. But if you looked into the facts of the trial and statistics of sexual assault, you would know that this isn’t the case. Mueller is the one who made this public. It was not Swift. Many things Swift, her lawyer, and mom said in the courtroom last week are very telling, and proves that she was not lying about the incident.

It proves her bravery and courage for standing up for something that not many people talk about or are afraid to talk about. But with this case, people are speaking up, even fans who have been victims of sexual assault. Swift has made a powerful statement and is indeed making a difference.

She Countersued for a Dollar

A dollar? What? You read right. For Taylor, this isn’t about the money. It’s about the principle and the message. She wants this countersuit to be an example to others that it’s okay to speak up and to say “no”.

Here’s what her attorney said during the trial:

"She’s just trying to tell people out there that you can say no when someone puts their hand on you. Grabbing a woman’s rear end is an assault, and it’s always wrong. Any woman — rich, poor, famous, or not — is entitled to have that not happen."

Swift also released a statement about her victory, which says a lot about her and why she did this to begin with:

She may have millions but we believe that there is much more significance behind the dollar that she fought so hard for.

She Refused to Back Down

This trial showcased how much a defense lawyer can undermine the victim. In this case, Mueller’s attorney tried to do just that. But in the process of him doing so, Swift fired back with a strong backbone to build her case.

She shot back with some of the best answers, which made her testimony all the more powerful. At one point when Mueller’s lawyer asked if she had feelings about Mueller losing his job,  Swift shot back with a resounding answer:

"“I’m not going to let you or your client make me feel in any way that this is my fault. Here we are years later, and I’m being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are the product of his decisions—not mine.”"

Her testimony was brave, smart, gutsy, and proved all the more why we love her so much. Swift didn’t back down, you shouldn’t either.

Bravery Was Showcased

There are so many times in cases like these where people don’t speak up, in fear of losing. But Swift showed us all that it’s okay to be brave in courageous in the fight. Fans were inspired. In fact, we all were.

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