I think it is safe to say I love Harper Lee. So much so I named a pet “Scout” and have been itching to name a kid Harper for a decade.
Atticus has seen me through some tough times.
But here’s the thing, because of my outspoken telling of our family story (adoption, RAD, abuse) I know a lot of victims of child sexual abuse.
Most are white, stable, well-educated and financially stable.
They are not Mayella Ewing.
And yet I believe the reason why 90% of these people are extremely quiet about their stories is the grim stereotype associated with Mayella.
Think about it. How would our perception of abuse victims be different if it had been Scout, Jem, or Dill who had been abused?
Would you tell your story if you knew people would think of you as a Ewing?
Would you fight any harder if it were Scout?
And, for a diehard TKM fan this is hard; Mayella Ewing deserved better. From her wretched father of course, but how about everyone else in Maycomb? Was there no one who could have helped her?
More than 50 years later I will say it–
No
At least very, very few…
Carrying Light 
There are layers of sadness in the book. What could Atticus have said and done to make him twice the hero he was?
He did his job well. He has been my hero since I was 6. This one is not on Atticus. It is about the experience of realizing that most sexual abuse victims are scout Jem or Dill. They keep remarkably quiet because society sees them as Mayellas.
Sad, won’t change until we do.
Until we are brave. Saw a nova special on genetic testing. Some of the “contagious” issues are the same. Families split apart by fear.