This is very insightful. I can think of a few reasons why autistic women may be more vulnerable to sexual abuse:
I want to make clear that I'm not saying that people on the autism spectrum are more prone to being sexual assailants (I don't know of any statistics on this), but they experience sexual victimhood more often (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.852203/full). From the comments I understand that it comes across that way, and I will think about how to rephrase it - open to suggestions.
Thank you for this clarification. I'm not saying that people on the autism spectrum are more prone to being sexual assailants (I don't know of any statistics on this), but they experience sexual victimhood more often (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.852203/full). From the comments I understand that it comes across that way, and I will think about how to rephrase it - open to suggestions.
We have found it relevant to describe the population characteristics. Reportedly nine out of ten autistic women have been victims of sexual violence. If you haven't been raped, haven't raped anyone, don't know anyone who was raped, and don't have empathy for victims (autistic or not), then this post probably isn't for you and it isn't about you.
I've been thinking about this, too. What are recommended practices for naming bad actors? I'm tempted to name some right here in the comments, but I'm concerned that few others might notice or care since it's in a sub-comment, making the risk alerting them into action not worth it.
Some might identify themselves by attacking this post, downvoting, or jumping into action against women who might report them. We might spot them in the shadows by paying attention.
Those who are familiar with Scott Alexander's stories about Kathy Forth said that he slandered her on the basis of her mental health, without ever having met her. I find this unethical and stigmatizing to people who are getting treatment for mental health conditions.
Scott said: "She had a paranoia for being targeted for rape" - It is easy to guess where that paranoia comes from. People whose houses burned down panic at the smell of smoke. If anything at all, this indicates that she has indeed experienced rape.
"Investigations had found it to be false" - The conviction rate for sexual assault is abysmally low. Just because an incident couldn't be proven doesn't mean it didn't happen. Scott is epistemologically incorrect here.
He then reported a widely shared "warning" that Kathy makes false accusations, which could have just as easily been put out by a rapist or two and their friends. If you put yourself in the shoes of a woman who has been sexually assaulted, this is an absolute horror. She can never feel safe in the community again because no matter what happens to her, she won't be believed. When rapists hear a "warning" like this, they have found their next convenient victim because the discrediting work has already been done for them. Imagine being a woman who has a target on her back like this and the most essentially layer of recourse, her word, stripped away.
The presence of "warnings", the fear about sexual assault, the body of work on misogyny, and ultimately the suicide and her suicide note all together are strong evidence for me that Kathy has been falsely discredited after sexual assault.