The charges have been dropped in the Duke rape case, and I am incredibly sad and frightened for the accuser. Her name and face have now been made public; some places on the internet have even published her home address. I don't think she's safe. Some of the reactions towards her I have seen have been so incredibly hateful and vile - even from so-called newspapers like the New York Post, which featured her picture on the front page with the headline THE DUKE LIAR. If this kind of vitriol is mainstream, imagine some of the reactions going on in the minds of the slightly unhinged. I'm scared she'll be attacked or worse. But even if she isn't, her life is pretty much fucked forever.

It's extremely sad, of course, for the young men who were (it appears) falsely accused. But they'll be okay. They're rich, white, at a top school, and have the sympathy of the nation.

The accuser - I don't want to use her name, even though it is now public - is poor, black, and traumatized. Even if she wasn't raped - which still isn't clear (just because she wasn't raped by the men charged doesn't mean she wasn't raped) - something happened at that party. She left her fake nails, cellphone and purse behind. She didn't take her money. She called 911. And the members of law enforcement who talked to her agree that at the very least, she thinks she was raped. Oh, and let's not forget that she filed rape charges before, so was very likely a victim of sexual assault before this case even happened.

Chances are she won't be okay, and I'm terrified for her now that her personal information has been made public.

I'm terrified to talk to anyone about this. Because the reactions I hear are so angry towards the accuser, so hateful. They make me frightened to be a woman, and frightened that if I was raped nobody would believe me.