The unpopular sentence handed to Brock Turner by a California judge has left many questioning the legal system and the actions it takes as a whole.
Turner was sentenced to six months in jail with probation for a sexual assault of an unconscious woman in 2015. He will also register as a sex offender. But many feel that this sentence, which Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky gave the defendant was not long enough. The judge said that “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him” according to CNN.
Even with the 23-year-old victim’s twelve page letter read aloud in court and a unanimous jury decision, Judge Persky saw Turner’s future as an asset to protect and the victim’s pain as somewhat of an aside.
This sentencing has sparked debate about gender equality and even social equality, but there is also a staggering viewpoint that must be spoken about. College campuses have become increasingly unsafe, with sexual misconduct often going unreported. In a study done by the Association of American Universities, 23% of female undergraduate students have experienced sexual assault or misconduct “due to physical force, threats of physical force, or incapacitation.”
When asked, many did not report the incident because they believed “it was not considered serious enough.”
Turner’s sentencing sheds light on an issue that has been around, and one that has often been skirted around for a very long time. College campuses often handle sexual misconduct or sexual assault reports without wanting to draw attention to it or themselves.
Lisa Maatz, vice president for government relations at the American Association of University Women, told the Washington Post: “Universities need to stop trying to treat this as a PR problem, and treat it as the civil rights and public safety issue that it is.” Stanford University did hand the investigation involving Turner to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, as it said in a statement. They also did what they say is the most severe action they can take against Turner – banning him from campus indefinitely.
Featured image via Wikipedia
