He’s Not A Rapist
Brock Turner isn’t a rapist, but claims he did inflict trauma and pain onto a victim.. Is it assault or harassment?
In our democratic world, we yearn for the justice and equality of all citizens and treat all members to a fair trial before conviction. However, women and men are no longer on the same spectrum of equality. Because of the idea of sex and intersectionality, we are taught the moment we are born on what a men and a women should do. Men are seen as the aggressive, strong types who do everything in the world to protect and to create. Women, however, are forced to align with stereotypes of being a housewife and only being the shadow figure to men. Men are seen as a far more superior, dominate race, which results in better jobs and pay, and benefits. More specifically, when white men are convicted of any acts, they are not charged with the act or given a lesser sentence. The jury and judge sympathize with a white male, constantly arguing that he has a bright future and prison would ruin his career and life. However, any other race or gender other than a white male, would get the most drastic sentence and would have their entire lives ruined, even if it was a small act.
Brock Turner, former student athlete at Stanford University, was charged with three counts of felony sexual assault on January 18, 2015. He sexually penetrated an intoxicated and unconscious woman with his fingers. We all know very well of this case because of the way the judge and the public handled it. The original charges were 14 years in prison and possible probation. However, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to only six months and to be registered as a sex offender. Perky has been called for immediate resignation because of judicial bias in favor to male and class privilege. In recent events, Brock Turner is appealing his conviction, blaming the victim of being overly intoxicated and that his life is ruined because of this act.
In Lucinda Joy Peach’s “Is Violence Male? The Law, Gender, and Violence”, she quotes, “sometimes, women suffer abuses such as political repression in
ways that are similar to those inflicted on men. But since the
dominant image of the political actor in our world is male, the
problem for women is visibility.” This best applies to this sexually assault case, as we see how vulnerable the victim is to the harsh critics of the law. They are constantly questioning her, based on how intoxicated she was or how she dressed. How drunk were you? How do you know if you said yes? Why would you just follow him if you did say no? Those are questions that the prosecutors posed, in order to protect Brock Turner from what he has really done. This case would have brushed over, if it was not for the largely publicized acts of media and audiences that put this case on blast. They are many cases today, similar to the Turner case, that does not show any light of day and is again, brushed over because rape allegations are apparently not legitimate enough if the victim is overly intoxicated or drugged. Because of this connotation of power and aggression, men are constantly abusing their characteristics for their own personal needs. Women are victims to these cases and are constantly threatened and too afraid to even speak up about anything that happened to them.
According to official records, this is not a rape case, due to the fact that Brock Turner did not penetrate the victim with his penis. It is only a case of sexual harassment. However, wouldn’t this be considered an act sexual assault regardless of how the victim was treated? She was inappropriately touched without consent behind a dumpster with a stranger that stumbled upon her that night. Our victim, Emily Doe, described her experience in a 12-page testimony that changed the way we discuss and view sexual assault today.
It hurts me to even read the first few paragraphs of the testimony. Being a girl myself and vulnerable to what the world has to offer, it scares me to even think about a tragic event like so, happening to me. I question why there is not enough justice in the world to convict these men of these wrongdoings. Why are we invisible to society and why can we not have our voices being heard? The idea of intersectionality, sex and gender roles play a huge part in why we are fighting so hard for equality right now. Like stated before, women are stereotyped to only bare children and to be the complete housewife to our loving husbands. We no longer have a place in this world to talk about existing issues and are constantly pushed aside as bossy and unnecessary. Men are dominate, aggressive and much more powerful in this world, whereas women are just objects. However, after this Turner case, it sparked a conversation that would change the way we view this topic in the world. We now have a better idea of what is happening and are giving these women a voice, that can actually be heard from miles away.
Now, we have campaigns and protests that help assist the conversation we have towards sexual assault and rape. It happens constantly in our world today, which hurts me to hear, that everyday something like this happens to a girl around the world. These are our friends and sisters, who are always afraid of what will happen to them tomorrow. My guy friends and my boyfriend are constantly telling me to carry a pocket knife and pepper spray around, because they are scared for me. What has society become to where women always have to protect themselves from anything in this world? This is a fight towards equality and protection for the women in this world, who cannot speak up for themselves or are threatened in any way to keep quiet.
