Being a good boy and a swimmer at the prestigious Stanford University can apparently give you a lenient three months in jail for (trigger warning) sexual assault. Before I continue I want to add a trigger warning. I’ll be talking, maybe not in detail, of Brock Turner’s assault and his lenient sentence.

Brock Turner sexually assaulted a young, unconscious woman behind a dumpster. He had to be pulled off of her by two strangers. During Turner’s trial, Judge Persky argued that Brock Turner’s age and lack of criminal history should excuse him from such a “harsh” sentence. Persky said, “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him”. Persky also thought that Brock wouldn’t do any harm to others.  The same man who sexually assaulted someone behind a dumpster isn’t a threat to people?

Turner’s measly six-month sentence with probation sparked outrage across the country. Turner was facing up to six years in prison on three counts of sexual assault. Judge Persky basically let Brock Turner off the hook, because he studied at Stanford and was a swimmer.

Turner was out of jail in three months for “good behavior”. He is also registered as a sex offender. Brock was faced with protesters as he was released, and, apparently, the mob of protesters attacked Turner. There have also been armed protesters outside his parents home. They carry signs and guns as they stand outside. Some signs are “Don’t Legalize Rape! #RecallPersky”, and another sign reads “Protect Survivors Not Rapists.”

Many women and men felt insulted by Turner’s small sentence. Sexual assault is something you shouldn’t take lightly; not even for a privileged male swimmer. Brock Turner’s case definitely helped open the eyes of many people to rape culture (how rapists are victimized and victims are at fault). In her powerful, moving message to her rapist, the victim spoke of how he acted as if he did nothing wrong and how it was made to be her fault. “I was not only told that I was assaulted, I was told that because I couldn’t remember, I technically could not prove it was unwanted,” the victim wrote, “and then it came time for him to testify and I learned what it meant to be revictimized”. The letter tells of the assault, her time in court, and how Turner’s attorney tried to use her own life and unconsciousness against her. “This is not a story of another drunk college hook­up with poor decision making. Assault is not an accident.”

( https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.rmw51jLxb#.wiNqlyAxm)

Picture credit to: @elymiche on Instagram