When headline after headline in 2017 included a story of sexual violence perpetrated by powerful people, the public had questions. How had so many powerful people implemented systems of abuse that lasted decades? How many people ignored allegation after allegation and were thus complicit? A question that arose several times over: if it happened, why didn’t the accusers report at the time? And if they did, how come no justice was served? A cultural reckoning was afoot.
This book tackles the question of why 75% of people do not report sexual violence, which is hard to acknowledge and even more complicated to answer. It is deeply important and explores both the highly publicized stories as well as those quieter ones many of us know too well — the ones that go untold or are brushed off. I think what is important to note is that this book could read technical, offering facts and figures, and could be difficult to read given the subject, but Kaley manages to take a variety of stories of people who didn’t report or did and were left with an unjust result, and weave them together to create a personal, relatable, and engaging fabric of hurt, healing, and questions about how we create a system that works. Kaley also includes her own stories of not reporting sexual violence. The process of reading Unreported feels like having a conversation with a friend who is acutely concerned and baffled by the way that our justice system and our world address sexual violence.
I met Kaley, who is a friend of a friend, when I was in New York and she is lovely. I highly recommend checking this one out (the kindle version is currently $0.99). It pairs well with Catch and Kill, Know My Name, and She Said.
UNREPORTED by Kaley Roberts
Read It Like Rory 