“…rape on campuses isn’t always because people are rapists.”
This quote is from Leslie Rasmussen, a childhood friend of Brock Turner’s. She goes on to say “I don’t think it’s fair to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn’t remember anything but the amount she drank to press charges against him.” However perhaps, if Leslie was properly educated on sexual rights she would have known that she is perpetuating rape culture.
“It was a stunning fall from grace for Turner. Once a record- setting swimming prodigy, he is now a convicted sex offender at the age of 20.”
This is an excerpt of Michael Miller, writing for the Washington post about the almost rape that occurred at Stanford. He continues to describe the event as if Turner was a victim, detailing his successes and once potential future, more than the crime that took place. However perhaps if Michael was properly educated on sexual rights, he would have known that he is perpetuating rape culture.
The survivor quotes Turner saying, “Lastly you said, ‘I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin a life.’ A life, one life, yours, you forgot about mine. Let me rephrase for you, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives. You and me.” She points out how she has been forgotten.
If you haven’t heard about Brock Turner, he was recently convicted of three charges of sexual assault. The sexual assault survivor was unconsciously drunk when the atrocity occurred. She was found behind a dumpster, half naked, body with abrasions and pine needles and dirt in her vagina. Yet somehow he was given only a 6-month sentence since Judge Persky said, “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.” But what about the survivor of the assault? As the survivor pointed out it is about two lives. Judge Perksy, Rasmussen, and Miller have focused one a life. Brock’s. They have framed his life as the one overturned.
Somehow people do not understand that a mentally incapacitated person CANNOT give consent. This should not be a surprise. Even I didn’t know sexual rights. The morning after I was sexually assaulted, I didn’t know if what happened was illegal. I wasn’t sure if it was my fault. I wasn’t sure if I had the right to be upset. However, this is not just about me. It is not just about the Stanford case. It is about every school in America
Sexual assault rights are not talked about much in school. My health class stressed abstinence. To not take a drink from a stranger at a party. If you did decide to have sex, you could get pregnant or contract an STI. They do not talk about how you have to say yes. They do not say you cannot say yes if you are under the influence. They do not talk about what society tends to deem “shades of grey.” The education we do receive is a webinar before you start classes in college. I barely paid attention and skipped through mine. I was busy working through the summer and figured I already knew everything to know about alcohol and sexual assault. What I didn’t know is that I would become the 1 out of every 4. The Stanford survivor didn’t know that because she got drunk, it subjected her to sexual assault. Brock Turner has claimed that alcohol and sexual promiscuity go together. They do not. Just because someone gets drunk, does not mean anyone has the right to sleep with them. It is still a serious crime.
Why aren’t schools talking about this? If Leslie Rasmussen, and Michael Miller, two people from just one case fully understood sexual rights, they wouldn’t be indirectly blaming the survivor, or diluting the atrocity that was done against her. Thousands of assaults occur. Thousands of people are speaking in terms of victim blaming, and lessening the seriousness about the assaults. If Brock Turner fully understood sexual rights, could this case have been avoided? Possibly. How many other cases “possibly” could have been avoided? There is no answer. However, why not try? We should try every attempt to prevent assaults from happening. Since sadly for the Stanford case, sadly for me, sadly for one out of every four college women, and one out of every five women, their attempts to keep themselves safe- failed.
In school we are taught that they teach history, so history won’t repeat itself. We have a dark history of low conviction rates or rape, and in the cases that are convicted they are sheltered such as with Brock Turner. America, it’s time we stand for sexual rights. For women. For men. We cannot let judicial systems and judges such as Persky undermine our rights. We cannot let schools undermine ou full knowledge of our rights.
