I have been told by a number of men that rape culture doesn't exist in the United States, because rape is illegal here. I want to point out some clear evidence against this. Google defines rape culture as "the ways in which society blame[s] victims of sexual assault and normalize[s] male sexual violence." First off, just because something is illegal doesn't mean it can't be commonplace and accepted in society. Marijuana is illegal in Peru, but I've lived there, and everyone smokes pot. If the police find you smoking pot, they'll likely let you off scott-free if you share some of your pot with them. On the opposite side, gay marriage is legal, yet hate crimes still plague the LGBTQ+ community. Anyone who says that, just because something has been dealt with by law, the opposite of the law can't be normalized by society, doesn't understand social norms and is looking at these issues through a peephole, rather than through the whole window. Rape culture is a lot more than just making rape illegal; it's about lax laws surrounding it, and the even more lax sentences convicted rapists get. The government may consider rape to be illegal and wrong, but the criminal justice system doesn't take it seriously, rape victims are too often blamed for crimes committed AGAINST them, and parents are more likely to teach their daughters to not get drunk and go to parties in a mini-skirt than to teach their sons about consent and how to respect women. (This can even go for men too, as men can sometimes be victims of rape.)
Exhibit A: Last year, a Stanford University student named Brock Turner raped an unconscious woman he had never even met, behind a dumpster after attending a college party. Two other Stanford students passed by the dumpster, and noticing that Turner was sexually assaulting this unconscious woman, they tackled Turner to the ground and held him until police arrived. This is a pretty cut and dry case, if you ask me. He was caught in the act - red-handed. It was so blatantly obvious that he committed this crime that a jury of his peers unanimously voted that he was guilty. The maximum sentence for his crime was 14 years in prison, but because Brock Turner is from a rich, powerful, white family, and he happens to be a star swimmer, hoping to swim for the U.S. in the Olympics someday, the judge deemed him too fragile to send to prison. Even though Turner was convicted of 3 counts of sexual assault, all he received was 6 months in jail and probation, and with good behavior, he could be out of jail in 3 months.
And what's worse is Brock Turner still doesn't admit to the crime he was caught committing. Because the victim was unconscious, she doesn't know what happened and can't testify, so Turner wrote the script, changing his story to something ludicrous. But even without the victim's testimony, the two heroes who saved the victim saw what happened; they were conscious and fully aware, so their testimonies should speak for the victim, shouldn't they? Even so, Turner still maintains his innocence, not even humble enough to admit any fault. He insists the victim gave consent, and that he wants to speak out about "alcohol consumption" and "sexual promiscuity" to other schools, so people will be more aware of what these things can lead to. No, he doesn't want to encourage people not to RAPE other people; instead, he wants to teach people not to drink alcohol or have consensual sex, two things which are perfectly legal. One would think the consequences would be even steeper for a rapist who won't even admit he did anything wrong, and feels no guilt whatsoever for what he did.
Now, I think most people agree that Judge Aaron Persky might as well have spit in the face of every young woman out there who has ever been sexually assaulted, will be sexually assaulted, fears being sexually assaulted, or has a loved one who has been or will be sexually assaulted. That's every woman in the world. He might as well have told women everywhere that our safety is less important than Brock Turner's swimming career. This is why most women never report their rapes. Why go through all of the trouble of spending over a year going to hearings and trials, re-hashing your trauma countless times in front of complete strangers, when next to nothing will be done about it? What is this teaching women? That we have no one to turn to, and we might as well not bother. Judge Persky said he believed prison would have a negative effect on Turner, and therefore, he gave the rapist the most lenient sentence he could. Think about that for a minute. Nevermind how Turner caused the victim to suffer by raping her; all the judge cares about his how prison would affect a rapist. Please try to let that sink in. Many people are outraged about this and have been posting vlogs about the issue. For instance, Phil Defrance shared a few words on the subject here: http://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154252026224407&id=79728204406 (I couldn't find this video anywhere but on Facebook, so I hope everyone is able to see this, regardless of whether or not you have a Facebook.) Another Youtuber has a few things to say too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7KbdcxBDCM. (This video blacks out at one point, but he's not finished; give it a few seconds, and it will come back on.)
And who will be Turner's next victim? He practically got away with it this time, so what's to say he wouldn't get away with it again? And who will look at what Turner did and think, "Hmm, that guy did what he wanted and got away with it, so I bet I could too"? And Turner's lawyers, while they were doing their job, did nothing but ask the victim irrelevant questions about what she was wearing that night, how intoxicated she was, what she had eaten that day, why she was at the party, what she had done at the party, etc. They were not only trying to poke holes in her story which they could use against her, but they were essentially blaming her for her own rape. They tried to paint her as a slutty young woman who is maliciously trying to ruin a promising young man's life. Victim-blaming is a serious problem here in the United States. Even if it's illegal to rape people, everyone always wants to know what provoked the man to rape the woman, as if that has anything to do with what caused a man to disrespect a woman and force himself on her - as if men are raging, wild animals that completely lack self-control. That just goes to show that women are still considered to be second-class citizens to some people. Here is just one article on the Brock Turner case, but I would recommend looking up more information on the case, as there is ton out there: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/06/us/sexual-assault-brock-turner-stanford/.
What's worse is I can understand why Brock Turner turned into the rapist he did. I can understand, because his father gave a testimony begging the judge for leniency, and reducing Turner's violent sexual assault to "20 minutes of action". If his father doesn't even consider rape to be anything different from consensual sex, then why would Turner? I mean, Turner's dad even had the audacity to testify that his son won't even eat steak anymore. His dad was upset that Turner has become depressed and lost opportunities over this scandal. I'm thinking "rightly so!" I sure do hope he never enjoys a steak again, but that was seriously the reason Turner's dad felt his son should not have to face prison time. Nevermind how the victim feels. Nevermind what state she is in, or how this affects her. Turner was the one who made the decision to rape an innocent woman, so he made his bed and can sleep in it, but the victim surely didn't choose the life she now leads. So the problem isn't just with the criminal justice system; it's also a problem that needs to be addressed in every dwelling of every family in this country, as well as in every school. We need to teach children about consent from a young age, and we need to teach children to respect other people. Parents and schools both need to work together and teach that to their kids. For some people, consent and respect come naturally, and it doesn't need to be taught, but clearly Brock Turner's dad has no respect for women, and he passed it onto his son, in this situation.
And then there's the media. The very first article that came out about rape accusations against Brock Turner detailed his swim times. Why is that information at all relevant? It was meant to humanize him and reduce his crime. "Oh, ok! He raped a girl, but boy, he is a fast swimmer! That makes it ok." It was meant to make Turner seem less of a monster and more of a hero. The picture of Turner that everyone saw in the news was not a mugshot for a very long time; it was a professional photograph of Turner in a suit - to make him look like a professional, well-rounded, good person. The media is sexist too.
My overall point (in the sexism portion of this blog entry) is that rape culture does exist. It's all around us. A rapist, who very obviously committed this crime, received a slap on the wrist for his crime. The crime of rape may be illegal, but that doesn't mean the battle has been won. Women are still blamed for crimes committed against them, and sentences for rapists are lax, as long as the rapist has something to offer the country or the judge.
And I think the classicism displayed here is clear. If Turner didn't have such a promising career ahead of him or wasn't such a great swimmer, and if his family wasn't so rich and powerful, it's possible he would've received a much worse sentence. As I saw someone say online about this case, "Justice is sold to the highest bidder." It's all about capitalism in this country, and it's sad when someone who is supposed to stick up for the victim is willing to sell the safety and security of every woman in the country, in exchange for money. I believe it is safe to assume Judge Persky capitalized in the victim's pain and suffering. Had someone in a poor neighborhood been accused of the same crime, I have half a mind to think the sentencing would've been much more harsh.
And I don't even have to guess what the sentencing would've been if Brock Turner had been black. Have you ever heard of Corey Batey? He is in the exact same situation as Turner, except the outcome is much different. Batey was a prominent football player at Vanderbilt University when video footage that made it clear he had raped an unconscious woman was released. He was even the exact same age as Turner when he committed the crime. It's uncanny how similar the cases are. The only difference is Turner is white, and Batey is black. Oh, and the other difference is that Turner received a slap on the wrist after his conviction, while Batey is now serving a mandatory 15-25 years in prison. Now, I'm not defending Batey. I think he is a despicable human being and deserved what he got. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. But I'm outraged that someone who did the exact same crime as Batey doesn't have to do the time. Learn more about the similarities between the two rapists, their crimes, and the outcomes of their trials here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-brock-turner-cory-batey-show-race-affects-sentencing-article-1.2664945.
If you want to learn more about the victim, what she went through, and how this is affecting her, read the letter she wrote to her attacker here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.sylKdQZRm#.ympPW6rl9. I still don't know the victim's name, as I don't believe that information has been released. If you, like many others, don't agree with the verdict and the blatant disrespect Judge Aaron Persky showed toward women everywhere, he is up for re-election soon. You can either make sure to vote against his re-election, or you can sign the petition to have him removed from his position at: https://weareultraviolet.org/?utm_source=search&utm_medium=grant&utm_campaign=RevMsg&gclid=Cj0KEQjws_m6BRCv37WbtNmJs-IBEiQAWKKt0OtwdYFLOTY_wT2e5f-WjDRTfkQ2RgIAm1Yf8RKFqS0aAsja8P8HAQ.
I want to close out this blog entry by thanking the two heroes who saw a rape in progress, cared enough to check out the situation, and were brave enough to stop it. We have no idea what would've happened to the victim if these two young men hadn't stepped in. They could very well be the reason she is alive today. We should focus on these two heroes and the victim, and not as much on the attacker. The victim's two rescuers are Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson. I would like to thank the two of them, as well as all who stand up for rape victims, from the bottom of my heart. They are the type of people we need in the world. When one man failed the victim that night, two men restored her faith in men and in humanity. They truly are heroes.
This is rapist Brock Turner's mugshot, which was finally released. No one should be seeing his nice photograph of him in a suit. THIS is who Brock Turner is and what people should see.
This is Judge Aaron Persky, who perpetuates rape culture and enables rapists. It's time for him to give up his position on the bench, as he clearly can not be trusted with that kind of power.
These are the only heroes in this story: Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, who caught the rapist in action, tackled him to the ground, and held him until authorities arrived. Praise these two brave heroes.
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