We all know about the deplorable case of Brock Turner's sentence of six months but he only served three of those months because the judge did not want to ruin his life. In the beginning of August, another case was reported of a man who raped a girl, he was getting a scant sentence of two years work release, which means he is free to go to school and work and goes to the jail at night, and 20 years probation when he should have gotten 12 years in jail. Again in August an 18-year-old high school student sexually assaulted two girls and received only two months of probation. While the facts of this case are not as concrete, a still obvious privilege is being given to the attacker. What is going on here? Why do cases like this keep happening?
I'll give you an answer, this is the persistent truth of rape culture in America. One factor is that victims are being blamed for their attacks.
"You didn't say no," "you shouldn't have gotten drunk," "you shouldn't have acted provocatively, " these and many other statements like it are being directed towards victims that because they decided to dress a certain way, or they wanted to have a fun night out, or because they didn't say no that they deserved to be raped.
I'm sorry but I am not sure how that makes any sense whatsoever. A girl can wear what ever she wants to, that doesn't mean that a guy can rape her.
A girl can act however she wants to and then change her mind, that doesn't mean a guy can rape her.
Not having consent is not consent. If a girl is drunk, she cannot consent. It is that simple. It is never the victim's fault, no one ever deserves to have something done to them that they did not ask for. Instead of sending the message that girls should be careful and not wear suggestive clothing, how about we teach our men that girls are not objects and that only a clear "yes" means consent, nothing else.
As for our criminal justice system, they need to be the ones setting an example to men that this kind of behavior is not acceptable. While yes each case is different and judges should use their discretion as needed, if there is clear evidence in the matter then the defendant's academic reputation or sports reputation should not factor in the matter.
Most of the time there is more of a "he said she said" situation but these cases should be taken just a seriously. The impact of jail time on a defendant should not be a consideration because what about the psychological and emotional impact of the rape on the victim? If an 18-year-old man committed murder the sentence would not even be questioned, he would get definite jail time. So why is rape different, especially if there is clear evidence? There is obviously a failure in our criminal justice system as too many rape cases go either untried or under sentence. If we are to change how rape is perceived and dealt with in our country, we need to change the opinions and punishment surrounding rape culture.
