As if this year could not be more surprising, music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs was found not guilty of the three most serious charges brought against him. The first charge he was acquitted of was racketeering conspiracy, most commonly used to prosecute mobsters. Diddy was accused of using his business empire to organize drug-fueled sex parties and to coerce women into participating. He was also acquitted of two counts of sex trafficking for two nearly identical cases, in which two of his former romantic partners, Cassie and Jane, accused him of forced sexual acts and physical violence. 

Especially in the age of Trump, it is an important and courageous step that these two victims came forward to expose abuse in the music industry. But the victim-blaming arguments that prevailed make this devastating verdict a setback for the women’s movement. With a strong women’s movement, the courts can bend under pressure to deliver justice in some instances, but without it we can expect verdicts like this one.

Social media took up this story and developed it even further with many celebrities coming out and talking about these so-called “freak-offs,” which were really parties where rich people used drugs to coerce and abuse women. The innocuous-sounding term continued to be used throughout the trial by the media which did nothing but downplay what was actually happening at these events. 

The government was unable to convince the jury that Diddy had coerced these two women into sexual activity, or that he used his organization to facilitate their abuse. The defense claimed that it was simply a case of domestic violence, and even that it was “one of the great modern love stories.” They leaned heavily on the victim-blaming argument that both Cassie and Jane participated consensually, and they minimized the role of coercion and threats, which included violence, financial dependence, and public humiliation. A highly disturbing surveillance video was even leaked, showing Diddy brutally beating Cassie. In the end, he was only found guilty on two counts of transporting sex workers. 

Diddy is one of the richest musicians in the world, worth many hundreds of millions of dollars. The testimony of these two brave women exposed how he used his power and influence to control them, abuse them and humiliate them for years. This story is too common in society, but it does not just happen in the circles of the rich and famous. Working-class women are constantly having to endure the abuses of men who have authority or financial control over them. And nauseatingly, when they do find the courage to stand up, they often are made to share every intimate detail of their life and have to prove that they did not want to be abused.

During Trump’s first term, the explosion of the #MeToo movement inspired millions of women to come forward and say “Yes, I too was assaulted.” One in four women are sexually assaulted in the US and only 21% are reported to the police. There is even a chance that Trump will pardon Diddy from his conviction of transportation.  

Unfortunately this verdict may deter many women from coming forward in the future. Clearly we cannot rely on the court system to protect women. It will take the rebuilding of a mass women’s movement in the streets and in our workplaces to win real justice in cases like this one, and to fight back against the systemic oppression of women, which is woven into the fabric of capitalism. Gender oppression is but one tactic that is used to divide us as workers. No working person has an interest in any of its forms, which only serve to undermine solidarity in our struggle against the bosses. Neither women’s oppression, nor sexual violence, nor any other form of oppression and expolitation can be fully eliminated under capitalism, though we should fight them every step of the way. But ultimately, people of all genders must unite to fight back against all oppression and fight for a socialist society.