After the very recent release of Brock Turner and the numerous posts about rape on Facebook, I am nothing less than infuriated with the judicial system.
In college, we are constantly reminded that rape is a possibility. And people are told over and over again to report any sort of sexual assault or rape. But when it is reported, there is a slim-to-none chance it will be taken to court and the offender will be charged. Specifically, at Indiana University, the offender will be suspend for a summer semester and will be welcomed back the in the fall.
I was one of the people that was upset when I found out about Brock Turner's case. Not only was he given six months in jail, he was recently let out three months early for "good behavior." Personally, I don't believe that he should be getting released on such premises.
The one question I have for the judges that deal with these cases is what would you do if the person who was assaulted was your daughter or son, or siblings, or best friend? Could that judge imagine the emotional and mental rollercoaster that person would go through... It pains me to imagine how the assaulted individual must feel and how they will react to a court case that ended in a similar manner as Brock's.
In general, I've begun to notice more and more posts on Facebook of news articles regarding rape. The saddest thing is, most of the times its a mugshot of a male, the title states what positive things he has done, and then his charge. I am a firm believer that if someone has committed a crime, they should not be talked up to be someone that made a little mistake- they have raped another human being.
As a woman, I have begun to notice these articles more and more often. I've observed that most of the cases we see online go viral due to the circumstances, such as a limited time in jail or the way the court case was presented.
To be honest, as a college student, I have sat through the meetings, through the classes that bring situations such as these up. It's terrifying to see the statistics regarding how often people do report an assault/rape compared to be predicted the amount of cases that actually occur. The movie titles "The Hunting Grounds" is one of the most moving, but saddening documentaries that pertains to the way cases regarding rape are often handled and what happens to both persons involved.
I think that the ways in which the court system is handling these cases is wrong. If there are statistics regarding how common it is for a person to report a crime verse how often it is actually committed... It's proving the fact that so many individuals believe that reporting a crime isn't going to be beneficial to them. That exact statistic is making people nervous to even talk to anyone about what has happened to them.
If anyone has been on social media in the past few years they would have seen that many judges are asking (more commonly women) if they "could've kept their legs closed" or "if their outfit was too provocative." The judicial system is blaming the people who were assaulted.
I know that there are cases of rape or sexual assault that are charged correctly, and people do go to jail for an extended amount of time. But those cases aren't the ones that go viral. The cases that go viral are what influence the rest of society, and that typically involves the assailant getting little-to-no time in jail, and/or blames the victim.
