Everyone is well aware of one of the hottest story in the media, the Stanford Rape Case. 20 year old Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against his victim. Even though Turner was found unanimously guilty of all counts, the judge only gave him a sentence of six months because he feared a heavier sentence would have too much of an impact on Turner.
Usually there is a problem with perpetrators being convicted but this case has sparked quite a fire, scrutinizing the judge for his sentencing decision following a solid conviction. But this isn't about the Stanford Rape Case. This is about the messages our society conveys to the world regarding the rape culture.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network For every 1,000 rapes in the United States, 344 are reported to the police, 63 reports lead to an arrest, 13 cases get referred to a prosecutor, 7 cases lead to a felony conviction, and 6 rapists will be incarcerated. For every 1,000 rapes, 994 rapists walk scotch free. These numbers alone should send a red flag to every single person in this world that we have a serious problem but unfortunately that does not appear to happen.
Now many say that it is easy to look from the outside and comment on these happenings but I have legitimacy to my outrage at this corruption in our society. First, I am a fourth year criminal justice and psychology major in college and not only do I study the law and the how criminals, rapists included, think and behave but I also follow many rape cases across the country.
Second, someone close to me was sexually assaulted and I was there step by step through the entire process. The process that involved the school not allowing the victim to read the original report right away. The process that involved the counselor telling the victim that if she went to the police with the report that all her friends involved would receive underage drinking charges. The process that involved the perpetrator writing a letter blaming all of his actions on his victim, that his victim was coached into what to say, and that his victim was not even intoxicated, despite the cameras showing her unable to walk unassisted back to her own room. The process that has allowed the perpetrator being allowed to verbally harass his victim.
Finally, I know because I am a victim myself.
It can be very easy for people to look at rape and say it can avoided if the outfit was different, if they didn't drink so much alcohol, if she just said no. Hello? The black cocktail dress didn't rape her! The Absolut Vodka didn't rape her! You did. It was your own actions. You invaded her privacy to commit a vile act.
Oh but she didn't say no. Where is the communication in all this? Have you all forgotten what consent is? There are required programs all across the country targeted towards high-school and college students about sexual assault and rape. What is the biggest message that is emphasized in these presentations? No means no. So what happens to that bottom line? No means no except for when it actually happens. All of a sudden no means no is nowhere to be found. It becomes such a foreign concept, unrecognizable by perpetrators, school officials, counselors, and the entire criminal justice system. Suddenly the only person who is left still believing that no actually means no is the victim and sadly, that quickly disappears with the flood of excuses as to why it happened.
Drunk means NO. Not being able to speak coherently means NO. Passed out means NO.
The respect for women is gone. The responsibility for our own actions is gone. And our society is further promoting its acceptance and pardon for such malicious violations. People on the outside may want violators to rot away in prison for the rest of their life but what does that change if they never realize their wrongdoing? The only justice that victims truly want is for the world to stop blaming the victim and the surrounding circumstances, to stop questioning the physical and emotional pain experienced, and for the perpetrators to accept full responsibilities for their actions and finally, for full validity to be placed back into the meaning of consent. The culture and awareness of sexual assault, rape, recognizing consent, and facing the consequences for our own personal actions needs to change - and it needs to change immediately.
