In the past week or so, many of my friends and family on social media have expressed anger over Brock Turner’s sexual assault of an unconscious woman, his father’s distasteful denial of his son’s actions, and his extremely lenient sentencing. Well, I have a few things to say about this case and its outcome.

1. The fact that the term “rape culture” exists in America is depressing. And don’t even get me started on the fact that people still try to actually justify RAPE. But let’s just set one thing straight right off the bat: NO ONE, in the history of EVER, wants to be VIOLATED, DEMEANED, or DEFILED in ANY way, ESPECIALLY not like that. I don’t care where they are, what they’re doing, or what they’re wearing. No one is entitled to anything, and no one has any right to force himself or herself on another human being.
2. Brock Turner might’ve been a son and a college student. He might’ve been an incredible athlete. But those titles come second to his newest label: a RAPIST. Despite his father’s defense, Brock Turner forced himself on his victim and completely destroyed her. He took away her dignity, her peace of mind, and left her scarred and afraid.
3. If the victim’s drunkenness at the time of the incident influences your opinion of Brock’s sentencing in such a way that you side with him to any degree, you’re part of the problem. She had every right to get as drunk as she wanted, so long as she wasn’t hurting anyone else. But Brock had no right to hurt her. Despite what the defense chose to argue, the fact that she was drunk and couldn’t recall anything from that night isn’t a detriment to her character. All it proves is how incoherent she was and that there was NO WAY she could've given consent.
4. Despite the fact that the victim in this case was female, let's not forget that men can also be victims of sexual assault. This is not mentioned to discount the substantial number of female sexual assault victims and the patriarchal, misogynistic society that we, as women, are forced to live and survive in. It's just a reminder that, unfortunately, anyone can be a victim and anyone can be an assailant.
5. I've said the word victim many times in this article, but I want to note that she is also a survivor. And she might feel like her dignity, her being, her life, was taken away, and she'll no doubt have to live with this nightmare for the rest of her life, but I feel like and I know that she's stronger and braver than ever. And for that, I'm so proud of her.

As sad as this story is, the support for the victim and the outrage that I’ve seen and read give me hope. Don’t let that go. Don’t let people get away with believing that sexual assault is somehow justified. In order to change the culture, we have to change ourselves. And every single one of us has the power to protect one another and spread awareness that sexual assault is never okay no matter the circumstances.