So by now, you probably know about the slew of sexual misconduct allegations coming out against prominent male celebrities, such as Louis C.K. and Harvey Weinstein. Over the past few weeks, many women, both in the public eye and not, have stepped out of the shadows and recalled their experiences with sexual assault and misconduct.

For the most part, these allegations have been met with swift action and apologies from those men involved. And while that's a step in the right direction, there is still a culture in today's society that impulsively wants to believe the man in the situation, because they are the ones in the positions of power.

The blame is, more often than not, placed on the women. And if victim blaming doesn't end, we will continue in this vicious cycle of men thinking they can do whatever they want because they are prominent in their field or society.

Take for example the Brock Turner case. He was caught attempting to rape a girl who was unconscious, and instead of facing any real consequences, the judge, (who was, like Turner, a swimmer at Stanford), sentenced him to 6 months in jail.

He served half of that sentence.

The woman in the case was blamed for consuming too much alcohol, and instead of addressing the problem of rape culture, Stanford instead changed their policy on hard liquor consumption.

This example is only one of the many that place the blame on anything and anyone other than the man who attempted the assault to begin with.

The Roy Moore case is another example of how the media vilifies those who come forward about sexual misconduct. Moore, who is running for senator of Alabama, was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32. The Washington Post broke the story, which was corroborated by over 30 sources.

Yet, over and over during this coverage, I have heard those in the media try to discredit these women who have come forward by bringing up their marriage history, political affiliation, and even their economic standing.

The alt-right website, Breitbart, even sent reporters to Alabama in order to find dirt on them and absolve Moore.

Whether it's rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct, it is imperative that we end this culture of making excuses for the perpetrators. Obviously everyone deserves a fair trial in our justice system, but the court of public opinion solely relies on our judgement as citizens.

We have to remember:

They were never asking for it.

It doesn't matter what they were wearing.

It doesn't matter how much they had to drink.

'No' means 'no'.

If we as a society don't fully adopt these ideals and continue to blame the victims, the vicious cycle of men in power thinking they can do whatever they want will never end.

We've seen what happens when sexual assault allegations go unnoticed: the accused get to rise to prominence in film, TV, and even the presidency. It's time we start actually doing something about rape culture, or all we'll get is half-hearted apologies and cancelled TV shows.