During my childhood, I felt let down by the criminal justice system when they released a man from his prison sentence for "good behavior". Of course, they didn't have young girls in prison for him to exhibit his bad behavior. I feel let down again knowing that Brock Turner's already-too-short sentence will be cut down to 3 months. How is our consistently flawed justice system protecting the public and upholding its duty to mitigate crime by letting this man serve only 3 months?
This injustice feeds into the misogynistic and violent belief that a man violating a woman is no big deal, especially when he's a privileged young white guy. It perpetuates the stigma that the victim is at fault and that because she was drunk, he committed no crime.
I feel anguish for all the survivors who have been let down by a system that showed leniency to predatory behavior. I feel so much agony and empathy for the victims who will be too afraid to come forward because they feel hopeless that justice will be served. This is not only disappointing, it is downright scary. Our justice system is sending across a dangerous message with this case that sexual violence is okay. Considering the statistics on sexual violence, I imagine this case has been a trigger for many people I know. I am grateful for the number of posts I'm seeing from outraged people who seem to understand the simple concept of consent.
#brockturner #sexualassault #nojustice