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A reflection by Dallas

Posted on Mon Jan 22nd, 2018 @ 11:57pm by Karyn Dallas R.N.
Edited on Mon Jan 22nd, 2018 @ 11:57pm

So this is Dallas being called as a witness as to Ash's state of mind after the attack, ie. if she really is traumatised or putting it on. I'm not sure we're going to be able to get this done on time, so we'll have to work as quickly as possible on it, and if necessary try and turn it a thinking flashback... but obviously I'd prefer if it could go out with the other trial parts.

Who's Who in the part:

Eve: Hawkes (one of Deakins' Defence reps)
Maud: Liz Wilde (Ash's Prosecution rep)
Lori: Dallas
Ray: Admirals (judges)


Lieutenant Liz Wilde took her time as she walked around to the Counsellor who had taken her place as the next witness, giving her time to settle in after presenting her credentials. "Counsellor Dallas, you have been seeing Ms Rowe as a patient since the final attack that ended with her being taken into Sickbay, yes?"

Karyn nodded. "That's correct."

"Could you please tell us what your conclusions were of her mental state when you first saw her?" Wilde asked calmly, looking to her at the open question that would allow her some space to talk.

Karyn took a moment and a breath to consider her words before adding, "She appeared to be in a state of psychological shock. She expressed a great deal of anxiety, sadness, and an overall feeling of disbelief that someone could hurt her this way, especially someone she knew."

Liz nodded as she watched her, wishing to keep her talking. "And in your professional opinion...what does this stem from?" she asked, putting her on there as a professional doing a clinical analysis.

Karyn knew what Liz was looking for in her answer and she chose her words even more carefully so as not to lose credibility. She could not state to a legal certainty Ash had been raped, and she wouldn't accomplish anything by insisting she could. "In my professional opinion, this state of mind is consistent with what she stated had happened to her...that she had been raped by a colleague."

Liz nodded gently, watching her for a long moment. "And in your professional has this affected the Ensign?" she asked...wanting to show that this wasn't something to brush under the carpet.

"From what I've observed and what she's reported, she's become more withdrawn and less sure of herself and her surroundings. She's expressed an inability to feel safe in most places and a lack of interest in interacting with people unless she absolutely has to. She's reported difficulty concentrating and overall irritability because she doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin anymore. She understands and has said being sexually assaulted has profoundly changed who she is and the person she shows the outside world."

Liz nodded as she looked around, making sure that the people were taking in what was being said. "Inability to feel safe in most places," she repeated before she looked down. "It sounds like something from another century, does it not? A woman feeling unsafe in most places due to violence, due to her sex."

"Unfortunately, as enlightened as our society is today, sexual violence is still a reality for many women and men," Karyn explained. "Although the numbers are a little better today, we know that still more than half of sexual violence incidents go unreported, and of those that are reported, the vast majority don't ever result in an arrest, let alone charges, prosecution, or a prison sentence. Offenders count on survivors feeling too ashamed on their own or even by the system to go forward with reporting it. For a survivor from Starfleet, it is even more difficult to acknowledge what happened and to express those feelings because it goes against the idea that a Starfleet officer is supposed to be able to protect him or herself and to trust his or her fellow officers."

"In your professional opinion, could this damage Lieutenant Junior Grade Ash Rowe's career?" Liz asked bluntly, meeting her eyes. "Not on her own accord, but the still conceived stigma of what happened to her?"

Ash's throat tightened at hearing the question, her whole body tense with it. It was something that concerned her. Greatly. Hearing it put so plainly in front of a room full of made it seem even more of a reality.

When the silence stretched, Liz looked around the room. "I believe that does indeed sum it up. Even here, in this court, there are no words to cover it. Professionally, personally...this will have a massive impact on Lieutenant Rowe. She is the one who has to live with this, for the rest of her life, knowing what someone in the same fleet at her, who wore the same uniform, did to her. That you cannot trust." She frowned and lifted her chin. "How do we even start atoning for what has been done to one of our officers? A sister. We do it by giving her the justice she deserves, that any of us would deserve."


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