Sexual assault is serious. The Stanford rape case has opened the eyes of some people and they have expressed their opinions about it. The rape occurred at Stanford University in California on January 17, 2015. A 20-year-old student, Brock Turner, a talented swimmer, had sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on campus. 2 Swedish college students were riding bikes around campus when they found him on top of her, they yelled at him what he was doing and Brock was running away until one of the college students caught him. They held him down until the police arrived. This went to court and his conviction made many people angry due to some injustices. Both the victim and Brock's father had a letter for the judge to speak to. The victim talks about how Brock ruined her life but her father says otherwise; he is an innocent and lonely boy and he got a chance to go to the Olympics to swim and so on. Brock was charged with 3 felonies: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated female, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. After the judge heard what the victim and father had to say, he changed his mind about sentencing Brock. The father's letter was the main reason why Brock's sentence was reduced and this left many people upset. Brock did not hold himself responsible for the action he had taken. The way Brock's father downplayed the situation influenced the victim's and society's point of view. The father's letter and the case together show that rape culture continues to be accepted in contemporary society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While the victim, Brock, and their families went through trials, Brock never accepted responsibility for sexually assaulting the victim. He didn't say what he had to say in court, he remained silent about what he appeared to be. Brock never apologized to the victim in person, never showed any emotion in court. He said the victim gave consent but was unconscious. “You said you would stop and get help… Here's what you'll never have a good answer for, here's what you can't explain even after a year” (Buzzfeed 8). Brock running away as soon as the two Swedish college students call him out proves that he knew he was doing the wrong thing and didn't want to get caught for it. Brock also said he would have stopped and asked for help but did not demonstrate that he did not want to be responsible for sexually assaulting her. “You said, 'Being drunk, I couldn't make the best decisions and neither could she... That's the difference.'” (Buzzfeed 10) The victim explained how regret for drinking and regret for sexual assault were different She also said that it wasn't the alcohol that undressed her and started sexually assaulting her. This is an example of how Brock tried to 'blame' the alcohol and how the victim was drunk, without blaming himself. This is also another reason why rape victims are not able to speak up in today's society "He only apologized for drinking and has yet to define what he did to me as sexual assault, he victimized me continuously, without any. stop" (Buzzfeed 14). Brock apologized only for drinking and for not outlining what he had done to her. He does not call this a case"sexual violence", he considers it part of the action, his father also thinks so. That's why he didn't take responsibility. “Brock is not the victim here. He is held responsible because he attacked someone" (Title IX 11). When the Title IX expert noted the letter from Brock's father, after his father said, "His life will never be the one he dreamed of and worked so hard to achieve," he said he is held accountable , he shouldn't have to make excuses. That's not the point that he had an amazing life and future, it's that when he attacked someone, he did this to himself. Brock's father was trying to make it seem like Brock was the victim because she had a successful life and had dreams and now she is ruined because of his "actions". Brock and his father were denying his responsibility for sexually assaulting her. Brock's father limited the situation in this case, it shows how Brock and his father didn't take it seriously. It leaves the victim and the Title IX expert enraged. After the judge heard what Brock's father had to say, he changed his mind on Brock's sentence and reduced it because of the way Brock's father worded his letter. He talked about Brock's successes and how he has been very good at swimming since he was young. He also says that Brock was lonely and struggling to adjust socially to college. His father said this was what drove him to go to parties and drink alcohol. His father thinks that being isolated and not having many friends is the cause of this situation. He spoke about how Brock's life was ruined because of what he did to the victim. He also talked about Brock's personal life and experiences, not a single thing about the victim or the case. He had to speak for Brock. “That's a very high price to pay for 20 minutes of action in its 20-plus year life. The fact that he now has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life forever changes where he can live, visit, work and how he will interact with people and organizations” (Father 3). These 4 words, "20 minutes of action", changed the judge's opinion on Brock's sentence. Brock's father doesn't consider it sexual assault, he considers it an action, something that Brock was doing. Here's how he downplayed the situation. He changed 'sexual assault' to 'action', that's how the judge thinks: “Oh, you're right, he shouldn't be punished with 14 years for some actions he committed and when he had a great future waiting for him. " “This is incredibly disturbing on several levels. Penetrating someone who is unconscious is not “action,” it is assault. Sexual assault is about consent, not the time it takes to rape someone” (Title IX 12). When the Title IX expert said it was disturbing for her to read this line from Brock's father's letter, "That's a lot of... years of life." shows that she was very angry at the way Brock's father reworded the sexual assault and how he thinks sexual assault is nothing, like it's no big deal When someone doesn't want to call it sexual assault it shows that they know they did something very wrong and tries to reframe or downplay it to get out of a situation. big deal. “Brock and his family must accept responsibility for the violence he perpetrated and make amends. Dismantling rape culture means we cannot silently excuse his actions” (Title IX 13). The Title IX expert wants Brock and his family to surrender and take responsibility because Brock committed the assault, he must carry out his punishment. Brock's father said that Brock wants to educate others about drinking and the results in most cases and on.