She did what she was supposed to in this situation. She went to the police, felt the degrading q-tip of the rape kit. The unnamed woman whose riveting letter shocked the entire country went through the shame, the silence, and when justice was within her reach, it was viciously taken away from her for fear of the impact prison would have on her attacker. How does this happen?
The absolute mockery of her suffering and trauma during the trial and the consequent laughable sentencing of Brock Turner makes this case that much more detrimental. The archaic sexist tone that saturated the entirety of the trial highlights how much further women’s rights has to go. In her heartbreaking and gut-wrenching letter published on Buzzfeed, the unnamed woman referenced the ridiculous questioning she underwent by the attorney. Her prosecutor’s consistent manipulation of her alcohol intake and judgment on her decisions is a story so many rape survivors know all too well. The only “contributing factors” of rape is the conscious decision on behalf of the rapist to commit the raping. That’s it. Alcohol is no more a factor than what anybody was wearing. What Brock Turner did to her is utterly atrocious and heinous, and the slap on the wrist punishment is truly sickening. His father’s grotesque simplification of rape as a “20 minute action” indicates the truly problematic sexist thinking that drenches our culture. The only way to stop the continuing cycle of shame and judgement is to change the mentality and stigma that surrounds rape survivors.
That’s what makes this case all the more horrible. She tried to obtain justice, and like so many before her, it didn’t happen. The bulk of rape victims refuse to go to the police for fear of judgement, shame, and ridicule. Unfortunately, the sad truth of the majority of the brave women who do come forward is the same reality for the woman in question in this particular case. Their choice to consume alcohol and choice of attire is used against them by prosecutors who question their judgement. Regrettably, it usually works. A woman who is raped is never at fault, but consistently becomes manipulated into being blamed. No woman deserves to be raped and to have that sense of self-worth ripped away from them. The sad fact of life is that 1 in 6 women will experience some sort of sexual assault. We need to stop teaching women “don’t get raped”- it’s time to teach mean “don’t rape”. It’s time to hold men accountable for their actions, regardless of their race or their class.
The case is more than a demonstration of the perpetuation of rape culture that permeates our everyday lives. It is a prime example of the broken classist and racist judiciary system that exists in America. When a caught-in-the-act rapist only receive a six month jail sentence compared to an African American rapist convicted of similar crimes, it becomes brutally clear how broken the system really is. Sexism, racism, and classism are not three independent problems: they are so intricately and thoroughly interwoven together that most people have become so habituated they don’t even notice the problem exists around them. Brock Turner got away with his actions due to his race and his class, simple as that. America’s justice system favors the wealthy and the fair-skinned.
Cory Batey, a student at Vanderbilt, was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman back in April. The whole incident was caught on tape, and he was quickly found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison, 15 of which must be served. The difference in these two cases? Brock Turner is white, and Cory Batey is black. Brock Turner’s key defense was his whiteness, known in the trial as his “potential”. This man was caught in the act. There is no allegation, no question of his guilt; even all 12 jurors found him unanimously guilty. So why the light sentence? It’s not because the judge worried about the “severe impact” of prison. It’s not because Bock Turner has such “massive potential”. It’s because Brock Turner has such massive privilege. He is a young, wealthy, white male. Nothing can touch him. The ridiculousness of this case forces us to recall Ethan Couch, the young, wealthy, white male acquitted of killing four people and injuring 5 more due to his “affluenza”. Time and time again, our judicial system has shown to favor the rich and the white; a problem that affects every person living in America.
Change comes from people being angry and now they’re finally angry enough to take on the unholy trifecta of –isms. There are enough people appalled by the case and thought process behind the sentencing to truly make a difference. Even Joe Biden, our Vice President, has come forward with a letter to the woman. A Texan congressman also plans to read portions of her letter on the floor in an effort to demand the Supreme Court to overthrow Brock Turner’s sentencing. The case has already prompted change, but that doesn’t negate the tragedy of the situation, nor the heartbreak the woman has experienced.
