A tube of mascara.
Pregnancy.
A Forever 21 shirt.
A school semester.
Sentences for weed possession. One year is standard.
The time it took to stop crying after reading the victim’s letter.
All of these things last longer than the amount of time that Brock Turner spent in jail.
Three months. Brock Turner was in jail for three months.
This is what bugs me, and I’m sure everybody else. Witnesses saw the incident happen. Two men on bikes were present as it happened, and one was crying because of what he saw. The girl wrote a letter to Turner, telling details of everything that happened to her. Normally, the issue of sexual assault is that the girl doesn’t speak up. Girls are terrified to come forward. And in this case, thankfully, she was heard.
But she was not listened to.
That is what makes this story so tragic. She spoke clearly, quickly, and loudly. She recognized herself as a voice for all women who have been assaulted or abused. But her voice was turned away, sending a clear message to everyone that they should not step forward, because nothing will come of it. The system has now pushed us multiple steps back from getting to a place where sexual assault victim's can feel confident enough to seek help.
One comparison is even more shockingly ridiculous than the rest.
The case itself. The assault took place in January of 2015. Turner was sentenced in June of 2016.
I’ll just leave that there.
