The Turner Rape

Words: 1866
Pages: 8

“I wanted to take off my body like a jacket and leave it at the hospital with everything else.” These were the words of a victim of sexual assault at Stanford University in January of 2015, who was the victim in the infamous Brock Turner case. Turner, a member of the Stanford swimming team, was found guilty by the jury after being accused of sexually assaulting another Stanford student (whose identity has remained confidential) and ended up with a short sentence of six months (Victor). The sexual assault victim in the Turner case is not alone. 1 in every 5 women and 1 in every 12 men are sexually assaulted during their college careers (NSVRC). In other words, between 20 to 25 percent of college women and 4 percent of college men report having …show more content…
According to United States Department of Justice, “sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.” Historically, sexual assault has been “treated as a shameful secret that no one talked about; yet as long as coeducational institutions have existed, sexual assault on college campuses has occurred” (Hawthorne). After having a clear understanding of what it means, it is essential to take notice of the fact that college students, mainly women, “are at greater risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault than women in the general population or in a comparable age group” due to the idea that “at least half and perhaps as many as three-quarters of the sexual assaults that occur on college campuses involve alcohol consumption on the part of the victim, the perpetrator, or both” (Armstrong). Due to the high chances of becoming a victim, the best way approach to the problem is not to find treatments for the victims or apps to help them during the situation, but to prevent the situation in the first …show more content…
Their safety is being threatened by this issue and even though awareness of this issue is on the rise, actions from higher education institutions doesn’t seem to match it. This has led to many women being fearful during their time at college, and scared even after incidents occur to reach out for help. It’s been concluded that “women fear rape more than any other crime except murder” (Day). The image of safety measures, like public safety officers and required sexual assault courses, can diminish the perceived severity of the problem. It is important for schools to maintain focus on this problem and have a comprehensive understanding of the factors at play. One of the main factors contributing to sexual assault cases is the constant party scene leading to women’s exposure to multiple drugs, which places them in more vulnerable situations where they can easily be assaulted while being under the influence. It is a fundamental to think about the effects of sexual assault on women. Approximately “31% of all rape victims developed PTSD sometime during their lifetime; and more than one in ten rape victims (11%) still has PTSD today” (Kilpatrick). Likewise, institutions like Indiana University that do not expel all offenders because “they are not all predators” do this with the assumption that the offenders will not commit the same crime again, but research suggests that over half of