Is there safety in numbers? It’s a widely-held hypothesis; biologists, mathematicians, even grandma will tell you that you’re less likely to be a victim if you’re in a group.
There was no such safety for the intellectually disabled woman raped and impregnated at Hacienda Healthcare, even though she was in the company of dozens of fellow patients and received constant care from licensed professionals.
Perhaps cartoonist James Thurber was on to something when he suggested: “There’s no safety in numbers, or in anything else.”
But that can’t be true either, can it? Isn’t the developed world safe, at least in a general sense? Aren’t most humans intrinsically good? Aren’t we compelled to look after one another? Abide by the golden rule?
Perhaps that’s why this story hits so close to home for many of us. It’s jarring. It tests our faith in humanity. A 36-year-old man, who will not see his name printed here, is accused of committing an unfathomable crime. Not just sexual assault- but one committed against an individual without the ability to consent. He preyed upon a victim unable to defend herself.
As Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams put it: “This is a facility you should be safe in, and someone wasn’t.”
Whether we let it seep into our daily thoughts or not, that facility, and those like it, is home to a group of often-forgotten people. Living, breathing, thinking human beings just like you and me. Many are already victims to circumstances beyond their control; to consider the idea that they’d be further victimized by someone tasked with taking care of them is enough to make a person believe there is no such thing as safety in this world. We trust the system- and for good reason- the vast majority of employees at nursing facilities like Hacienda are making a profoundly positive impact on the world.
But in this case, that 29-year-old victim was failed by institutions that should have protected her. And since she cannot protect the baby born from this tragedy, it is our duty to do so.
“We can’t always choose how we come into this life,” said Sgt. Tommy Thompson in Wednesday’s press conference. “But what we can choose to do as a community is love this child.”
And we will. And there is safety in those numbers.