Netflix recently released the haunting true-story original series Unbelievable, following the case of Marie Adler, a young woman who went to the police after she was bound and raped for hours by a masked intruder in her home. Marie sadly found that the detectives questioned her report, with two male officers pushing for her to admit the crime hadn’t taken place. Charged with a misdemeanor for false reporting, the insensitive way Marie was treated when at her most vulnerable, makes for extremely uncomfortable viewing.
Fast forward several years, detectives in Colorado, led by Stacy Galbraith and Edna Hendershot, connected a series of local rapes to Marie’s attack, soon finding the man responsible. Confirming the sad truth of what happened to Marie, she went on to settle a lawsuit against the city for $150,000.
This series has brought Marie’s tragic case to the public’s attention once more, sparking an ongoing conversation surrounding sexual assaults and sexual safety. Since the details of Marie’s case were brought to light, critical changes have been made to policing and the handling of victims of sexual assault. However, the need for further progress is continuous for all.
Unbelievable has been described as a difficult watch, as we witness a detailed example of how isolated and helpless victims of sexual assault must feel, especially when they’re not given the correct support or find themselves mistreated by those in a position to help.
My name is Kal Kingsley and back in late 2016 I co-founded Smooci, a next-generation booking platform that uses technology to enhance the safety and support of escorts in particular. Despite Marie not being in the sex industry, her story has highlighted a number of concerns regarding safety for sex workers too. For example, in the early stages of our journey we were shocked by the sheer volume of insincerity; people whose sole intention was to cause stress, incite fear and intimidate, much like what Marie faced.
Malicious intent was something we knew we had to focus our attention on stopping, for it’s something that we could unfortunately all stumble across. It became apparent that the harsh nature of anti-trafficking laws and the criminalisation of sex work simply wasn’t supporting the major issue of sex workers being vulnerable to serious sexual assault; a more proactive approach was needed whereby from the very outset this kind of offence is prevented and eliminated. If Marie’s case had been treated with a similar level of commitment to stopping the perpetrator, the events that followed would have been very different.
Smooci was born out of a need to inject innovation into an industry that relied primarily on outdated platforms and age-old views. Our initial focus was to create a more efficient and modern way for genuine clients and sex workers to connect, but as we reached out to sex workers to hear their stories and learn more about their needs, we soon realised that the innovation needed wasn’t simply about tech but also about attitude. Moreover, we were beginning to understand that a platform connecting clients and sex workers has a duty to take responsibility for the relationships it creates, doing everything possible to ensure users’ safety. No matter the industry, influential platforms and organisations must be sufficiently protective and supportive.
Marie Adler had experienced a particularly unstable upbringing, moving from foster home to foster home, and it was through learning about her troubled childhood that detectives came to question her honesty, something that should have remained completely irrelevant. Sex workers are constantly faced with inaccurate stereotypes and a lot of people look down on them with a lack of empathy. One can only imagine how difficult and isolating it must be to face such judgement and pre-conceived opinions, even at the best of times, let alone when being a victim of a sexual assault. Stereotypes must be disregarded with our attention instead focusing on how we can anticipate and prevent crime, not how we can pre-emptively make unfair judgements. Instead of stereotyping Marie’s personality traits, more careful consideration should have been given to the identity of the suspect; a much more productive, fair and worthwhile form of profiling.
We have begun to focus our efforts on spotting fake and potentially dangerous clients as early as possible, stopping them from being able to make contact with escorts. We have also begun to develop a system for warning companions of suspicious clients and offering advice on how to verify clients before meeting. Ultimately, we are listening to the feedback, warnings and reports from those using our service as we try to offer them the very best support we feasibly can. These considerations have been emphasised by ‘Unbelievable’, for if anything can be learnt from the series it’s that there’s an expansive need for faster responses to sex-based crimes, for more careful consideration to be given to those who may be at a heightened risk (for any reason), and most importantly, for no one to be doubted due to stereotyping.
Sex-based crimes need to be more openly discussed, with an equal level of case commitment given to all victims. Meanwhile, strengthened efforts to prevent these crimes from taking place in the first place must be implemented across industries, countries and demographics. Smooci are leading the way within the world of escorting, but this global effort needs to be collaborative. I hope that ‘Unbelievable’ will resonate with viewers, emphasising the need for empathy and ultimately, the elimination of pre-judgement. Everyone deserves to be protected and supported, regardless of their background or profession.
Unbelievable is available to watch in its entirety, exclusively on Netflix.
Tagged in Netflix