Last Friday, September 2, 2016, a rapist was released from jail after serving an obscenely short sentence. Brock Turner raped a young woman but the judge and his family wrote it off as a drunken mistake. Turner was first sentenced to 6 months in jail. 6 months after committing an act that will weigh on the victim for the rest of her life. 6 months because anything longer would have an effect on Turner. Let's take a second and consider that. Brock Turner raped a young woman, which had an extremely negative impact on her, but serving time for the crime he committed would be bad for his future? Sexually assaulting another individual is bad for your future. When I heard about this case I felt anger I hadn't felt before, anger that had been reserved for an injustice such as this. Turner's father paints his son as the victim, as someone who just made a mistake. A mistake is drinking too much and going skinny dipping, not drinking too much and sexually assaulting someone. The fact that his father said: “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.” in regards to Turner serving jail time is disgusting. The price is steep because the victims face trauma for years and often the rest of their lives. The price is steep because jail is for punishment and reformation after a crime has been committed. Rape is a crime. Being drunk is NOT automatic consent, it's the opposite. Being alone at a party is NOT consent. The most disappointing and disgusting thing is the denial. Turner says he didn't rape her, that she said yes, that she was conscious. If that was the case why did 2 men have to hold you down until the cops came, Turner?
When you search the feminism tag on Tumblr there's an abundance of anti-feminist posts that pop up, many of which say that Brock Turner isn't a rapist. There is no debate, he did rape someone.The natural thing people say to men is "what if that was your mother/sister/daughter?" No. What if that was you, drunk and unconscious being assaulted behind a dumpster? Don't try to say you'd never be in that position and don't say you know better because I promise you that sexual assault victims never have a choice in the matter and if they did then sexual assault would never be a thing. People are saying it's the victim's fault, she should have known better. Fun fact: Brock Turner wasn't legally allowed to drink at the time of assault...shouldn't he have known better? Then again, he was caught lying about his partying habits. I guess that's just too much to ask of such a smart young man. The reason this case is so popular is because of the letter the victim wrote to Turner and the fact that this is not uncommon and that's coming to light.
Why should Turner be stuck behind bars? That's such a simple question, it's sad it's even being asked. Turner committed a crime, not something like stealing a pack of gum from a gas station, he raped a young woman. She didn't know it was happening and she's left with being questioned as if she lied about the rape. She was bloody in a hospital with gruesome internal injuries because a drunk boy "made a mistake." If drunk driving isn't a mistake, drunken rape surely isn't a mistake. The early release is reminiscent of the rape-culture that does exist in 2016. As a young woman, I have heard the same message over and over again and it boils down to three words: don't get raped. We live life with the fear of assault if we do something wrong, talk to the wrong guy, or wear a skirt that shows too much leg. Instead of telling young women to not get raped, we should be teaching young men (and women) not to rape. Rape is the crime and yet we are constantly acting like getting raped is the action we should be avoiding. Victims should feel no guilt for the crime committed against them. Men, before you comment that women are rapists too, take a second and think about when you were ever restrained from being yourself, going out, and talking to people for fear of being raped. This crime is not gender specific but this case's short sentence further perpetuates the idea that "boys will be boys" and girls need to try harder not to be raped. You don't go to a funeral and tell the family the victim should have tried not to get murdered because you know that's a ridiculous state of mind. Why is it different for sexual assault? Women are not defenseless flowers who need to be doted on. Women are not your property. Women are not inherently sexual beings. Surprisingly men and women are both 100% human. Brock Turner is twisted to think a young, unconscious woman being drunk is the same as a woman consenting to be with him. Turner should have served a fair sentence despite pleading as innocent. Murderers can have great defense attorneys but they do their time because they're criminals. Rapists should be called what they are: criminals.
Can we for a moment stop victim shaming? I am ashamed to know our legal system allowed a rapist 3 months despite the evidence, so his life wouldn't be affected. Sadly, what he did permanently alter another individual. Maybe the judge didn't want this case to have a lasting effect on Brock Turner, but now everyone knows him as the guy who raped a girl at Stanford.
