Ramaswamy's ad attacking Amy Acton reflects a societal culture of disbelieving and blaming child sexual abuse victims
Source: Dale Margolin Cecka. "Why Republicans find it so easy to defend pedophiles like Amy Acton’s rapist.." October 26, 2026. slate.com
The Gist
The author argues that an attack ad featuring Amy Acton's mother calling her a liar about being raped by her stepfather works politically because many people already distrust and blame kids who report sexual abuse. Research shows children rarely lie about abuse, and being a victim should never disqualify someone from leading. She urges readers to confront this culture and demand better from politicians and institutions.
Conclusion
The Ramaswamy campaign's ad calling Amy Acton a liar reflects deeply ingrained societal attitudes that disbelieve and blame child sexual abuse victims and protect abusers. We should confront this culture and demand better from politicians, institutions, and ourselves.
Premises
- Child sexual abuse is common (as many as 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys), usually committed by family members, and often leaves lifelong trauma.
- Society routinely does not believe children who disclose abuse: a third of children abused in the home get no supportive response, and about 75 percent of children who report abuse receive an overall negative response.
- Society blames victims, partly because of the just-world bias, so survivors are treated as tainted even when they were children.
- Research indicates that children rarely lie about sexual abuse; they are more likely to conceal it or retract disclosures under caregiver pressure, so disbelief deprives them of protection and support.
- Ramaswamy's campaign and Trump used Acton's mother's accusation that Acton is a liar as a political tactic, invoking the familiar trope that victims lie, and the ad's creators evidently expected it to work.
- Having been abused as a child is not a mark of shame or a disqualification from leadership. The shame belongs to the abuser, and voters should want leaders who show both strength and empathy toward abuse victims.
Assumptions
- The fact that the campaign thought the ad would be effective shows that these attitudes are widespread, rather than showing only the campaign's own cynicism.
- General statistics about how children's disclosures are received apply to Acton's case and to the political reception of the ad.
- Disbelieving a victim is equivalent to, or functionally protects, the abuser.
- Republicans (or this campaign) are representative of, or especially susceptible to, these societal attitudes, as the headline implies.
- Acton's mother's statement is part of the same pattern of disbelief and not an independent factual dispute.
- Public awareness of the prevalence of abuse will lead to better treatment of victims and better political conduct.