You are brave, you are smart, and you are a hero. I don’t know you, but I know that you have given a voice to the thousands of women that have been assaulted.
You went to a party with the intention of simply having a good time with your sister. You went to a party just like most girls in their 20s do. You went to a party with no intention of being raped. Yet, you were painted as someone that had too much to drink and consented to being sexually assaulted.
You fell into the wrong hands that night and then were made to look like the bad guy. Why is it that when a woman is assaulted people feel the need to ask, “What was she wearing? Was she drinking? Why was she partying?”
It does not matter what the woman was wearing or how much she was drinking. The problem with today’s world is how we put all of the focus on the women and what she did “wrong.” How about we start focusing on the men and holding them accountable for their actions. Let’s teach men not to rape. Sounds stupid doesn’t it? Just like it sounds stupid to tell a woman how she should act so she doesn’t get assaulted. Let’s teach men that it’s not okay to take advantage of a woman that is in no condition to give consent.
Brock Turner could have chosen to do the right thing that night. He could have chosen to take you home or help you find your sister. Instead, he took it upon himself to violate you just because he could. No one gave him that right.
Brock Turner must have learned how to be a shitty human being from his father. After the ruling, Turner’s dad, Dan, said that “20 minutes of action” have ruined his son’s life. To say that this comment infuriated me is an understatement. What about your life? Those 20 minutes forever impacted you and your family.
The rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree. Dan Turner’s comments show how neither he nor his son respect women. His comments make it seem like his son has done nothing wrong and that it is okay to rape a woman. I’m absolutely positive that he would be singing a different tune if this had happened to his wife, his sister, or his daughter.
You are a survivor. Your decision to speak out is one of the most courageous things I have ever seen anyone do. I don’t know you, but I stand by you. You are so brave and your words have made a difference. You have shown that speaking out is important and that words can make one hell of a difference.
Featured image via “March Against Rape Culture and Gender Inequality – 2” by cmcarterss / CC BY-ND 2.0
