Every time a victim of sexual assault told me they couldn’t go through the whole trial process, I understood. Some prosecutors would tell them that they would feel empowered, no matter what verdict was rendered. But that was never and will never be true. To put yourself in the spotlight, to be dragged an entire trial, to have your every move questioned, only to hear a not guilty verdict is not empowering. It’s another brutal blow from a system that takes the easy way out. But, these cases can be extremely hard to prove for all those reasons. So, it’s rarely the jury’s fault. It’s more systemic than that and in some cases, it’s just evidentiary. You can know something happened and still not be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt as a prosecutor (and you feel like you have failed not just the victim, but all victims), especially when the attackers know how the system works. Anyone who speaks up, whether they go through court proceedings or not, is a hero.