The Brock Turner sexual assault case has surfaced and caused a whirlwind of emotions from people all over social media. As I am sure everyone already knows – Turner, a 20-year-old Stanford University swimmer, sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. Somehow, some way, Turner was only given a 6-month jail sentence for his monstrous, criminal actions; 3 months with good behavior. He started his sentencing on June 2nd and currently, is being kept safe since being placed in protective custody in jail. Many people across the globe are sharpening their pitchforks- enraged by this “far too lenient” punishment.

At Stanford University’s graduation ceremonies, there was an abundance of graduating students that held signs showing their support to sexual assault victim. They were protesting during their own graduation ceremony to honor her and to show that they are with her during this tough time. You can see 20 different photos here, thanks to Cosmopolitan Magazine.

The man above is right. Rape is rape. Assault is assault. I don’t care if Brock Turner was a good swimmer and I don’t care that he lost his shot at the Olympics. I don’t care that a prison sentence would have a “severe impact on him”- it should. Turner blames his actions on “drinking, peer pressure, and promiscuity” but those are entirely irrelevant and not at all an excuse. No matter what way you spin it, this man’s actions were those of a cold-hearted, soulless criminal.

My heart breaks for the 23-year-old woman who was attacked and taken advantage of by Brock Turner. No one should ever have to feel that invasive pain that she must feel on a daily basis from what her attacker did to her. Her voice can be heard here, in her powerful letter to her attacker.

But what kind of impact will this horror story have on our country? Well, I am proud of the large support system that the victim has backing her up during this difficult time. I am comforted by the amount of people engaging in this major controversial story and I have faith in humanity when I see my Facebook newsfeed filled with kind words in support of her story.

Like I said, I am proud but more needs to change. For example, dress codes in middle schools and high schools? Girls are being told they have to go home to change because their bra straps are showing. Girls have breasts. Breasts need bras. Is it really that much of a surprise that you can see a bra strap on a girl’s shoulder? We all know the bra is there because if it wasn’t, there would be a controversy about that! People don’t want to admit that women’s nipples are no different than men’s. Why should girls be sent home, forced to miss out on their education, and told to cover up but guys can walk around shirtless, on school grounds?

A girl’s shoulder, bra strap, belly button, legs, or back are not and should not be distracting to any male students or faculty. Why aren’t boys forced to follow these *stupid* dress codes? What is the difference between a female’s shoulder or legs versus a males? Instead of telling girls that their education is not as important as the boys in their class and that they need to cover up because “boys will be boys”, we should be teaching boys to respect women. If you are sexualizing young women in that way, then you are the problem.

These two issues go hand in hand. Brock Turner clearly did not respect the woman he sexually assaulted. He used her and abused her. Our world needs to make a very important change: we need to learn to respect each other, sexually and not, and we need to stop allowing those that don’t to get away with it.

Let’s take a stand, as a strong nation, and put a stop to the perpetuating rape culture. Let’s put it these issues to an end