A sexual assault case involving the sentencing of a 20-year-old former swim team member at Stanford University has sparked a national soul-searching about the appropriate punishment for rape.
Brock Turner was convicted on three counts of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. A judge in Santa Clara County, California sentenced him to six months in a county jail. Prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence.
Hilary Pacha, senior director for prevention and empowerment at the McLean County YWCA, says the case underscores many of the misconceptions that exists in sexual assault cases.
"This is indicative of something that could be happening across the nation," Pacha said on GLT's Sound Ideas.
Pacha said local rape crisis workers haven't encountered a similar sentencing in McLean County, but that it is often difficult to successfully prosecute rape cases. Jurors often harbor stereotypes about rape cases, she said. "They don't recognize sexual assault for what it is, so we oftentimes hear not guilty verdicts," she added.
Speaking as well on Sound Ideas, Amanda Papinchock, director for violence prevention and peer education at Illinois State University, said both women and men need to be better informed about what constitutes consent and what is sexual assault.
She said she often holds group discussions that include both men and women. "We should be comfortable talking about consent, we should be able to talk about sexual experience openly," Papinchock said.
An impact statement from the woman in the case went viral on social media. In it, she describes in chilling detail the effect the attack had on her emotionally. She told of waking up on a hospital gurney without knowing what had taken place.
She said she was subjected to intense questioning during the investigation into the incident in which she was attacked behind a dumpster following a fraternity party. She was rescued by some passersby who noticed she was unresponsive, and who chased and tackled her attacker.
"I was pummeled with narrowed, pointed questions that dissected my personal life, love life, past life, family life-- inane questions accumulating trivial details to try to find an excuse for this guy," the woman said.
Turner also faces six years' probation and must register as a sex offender. Pacha said offenders are sometimes able to successful negotiate to remove their names from the sex offender registry.
The YWCA is offering "Lunch and Learn" sessions for businesses, schools, churches and other groups interested in learning more about misconceptions and stereotypes involving sexual assault. You can weigh in with your comments on sexual assault at YWCA blog. Go to www.ywcamclean.org/voices.