A few days ago, I came across another rape article from the Huffington Post. Austin Wilkerson, a 22 year-old student at the University of Colorado- Boulder, raped a fellow student in 2014; a half-conscious female freshman that he met at a party. Not only did he violate her body, but he lied about it in court. He told the jury that the woman wasn’t drunk and that their sexual activity was consensual. Obviously, this was a lie told to cover his own behind. Originally, he faced a potential punishment of four years to life, but this past Wednesday, the judge in Boulder, Colorado merely sentenced him to two years on work release and twenty years’ probation. Once again, the rapist’s feelings were more carefully considered than the victim’s, and that is disgusting.
The rapist’s family and friends advocated for the judge to grant him leniency because it was a “traumatic incident” for him. According to Huffington Post, the rapist’s family and friends asked the judge to “consider Wilkerson’s future,” and said he “will go far in this world if not defined by this one incident.” I’m sure it was traumatic when the half-conscious victim felt herself being penetrated by a stranger’s genitalia and was unable to stop the situation. I’m sure she felt traumatized when she woke up sober and couldn’t remember what happened the night before. I’m also sure she’s going to be traumatized for the rest of her life; constantly looking over her shoulder, never touching alcohol again for fear that she won’t be in control of her surroundings. None of this is fair. It isn’t fair that this woman and women all around the world are suffering for the actions of vile human beings. It’s not fair that the feelings of these rapists, the feelings of these so-called “golden boys” are being taken into consideration more carefully than the victims’. Both the rapist’s and the victim’s lives will be changed, but for completely different reasons. The rapist will be listed as a registered sex offender, and rightfully so, while the victim will be scarred for life. Will she ever trust anyone else enough to enter into a relationship again? Will she begin to flinch whenever someone touches her? Who knows? What I do know is that the victim’s life is about to get a hell of a lot more difficult, and she doesn’t deserve it.
Despite what this woman has been through, however, she is a survivor. She lived through one of the worst possible experiences that anyone should have to endure, and she survived. Later in time, she’ll have the capability to raise awareness about this inhumane act, and she'll be able to tell her story to others in hopes of changing narrow mindsets and other lives. In the meantime, though, we as a society need to properly educate our youth. The act of rape should not exist; no one should feel degraded on such a level, and yet it happens all of the time. Rape victims are rarely taken seriously or given the love, care and support they need, and that has to change.Stop putting the victim last when there shouldn’t be a victim at all.
