Let’s talk about un-consensual sex, or better yet, the word rape. According to the Webster dictionary, the legal definition of rape is the “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception.” This means that if a person is incapable or does not consent to the sexual act, the person who forced the act is considered a rapist. Today, in our society, it is hard for rape victims to come forth and report a rape because of the lack of justice that they will receive. This lack of justice can range from preconceived notions of the victim to the corrupted society we live in. Let’s say that the victim was a female who dressed like today’s 20-year-olds do; there is already the notion in our society that her clothes could have been provoking the attacker. This woman can be scared to bring her assault to the police because she knows that in today’s society that she would be blamed. Rape does goes both ways, a male can be attacked by a woman. In our society a man needs to have certain characteristics that are considered “manly;” these are usually characteristics of being tough and in charge. If a woman attacked him, he may not report it to the police in fear that he would lose his masculinity.
Rape is a big problem, believe it or not. An even bigger problem, however, is how rape cases are dealt with. Our society is so intertwined with money, racial backgrounds, and false accusations that we tend to overlook who is guilty and who is not. There needs to be a change in how our society deals with these issues. Look at Brock Turner’s case, this case turned into nationwide news around three weeks ago. Turner was given a sentence of six months in jail, not prison, but jail. He was then given a two month grace, meaning he was given a reduction because he seemed to not be a threat in society. How does this happen? The jury found him guilty of entering a foreign object into an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. Turner was also caught in the act by two young men, who stopped him from causing any more damage. There was enough evidence to place him behind prison bars for years. Instead, he was convicted of sexual assault not rape.
Brock Turner is a rapist, why was he given such a shorter term than a man who was convicted of rape. Look at Brian Banks, he was a black 16-year-old who lived in Southern California at the time of the accusation. He was convicted of raping a 13-year-old female and after serving five years in prison was found not to be guilty because the female lied. Both of these men shared the same characteristic of being star-athletes, Turner was at Stanford and Banks was at Long Beach Polytechnic High in Southern California. How does a rapist who had all evidence pointing at him walk away with assault and a guy who had little evidence pointing at him end up five years in prison? You can play the racial card, and maybe it is right. However, the bigger issue is a corrupted system of society. Brock Turner’s judge, Judge Aaron Persky, made the statement, “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.” Prison will have a severe impact on him? What about the severe impact that his victim suffered because of him? This is the perfect example of how corrupted society plays in rape cases.
The corruption of preconceived thoughts on a person; the victim, a female was under the influence, so it was not Brock Turner’s fault that she was raped. She made the decision to drink, therefore, she is at fault. That is basically what this judgment is telling all rape victims, it is their fault they were raped. This is the type of corruption that needs to be changed and the only way to make that change is to bring awareness on how our current society is thinking. Society needs to look at the evidence in front of them and not on money, racial backgrounds, and preconceived accusations of people. We, as the new generation, need to seek justice on a more just scale.
