Sexual assault is serious. The Stanford rape case opened some people's eyes and allowed them to express their opinions on the matter. The rape took place at Stanford University in California on January 17, 2015. A 20-year-old student, Brock Turner, who was a talented swimmer, had sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on campus. 2 Swedish grad students were riding their bikes around campus when they found him on top of her, they yelled at him for what he was doing and Brock ran away until one of the grad students caught him. They held him until the police arrived on the scene. This was taken to court and his conviction made many people angry because of some injustices. Both the victim and Brock's father had a letter so the judge could speak. The victim talks about how Brock ruined his life but his father says otherwise; he is an innocent and lonely boy and he had the chance to go to the Olympics for swimming and so on. Brock was charged with 3 felonies: assault with intent to rape an intoxicated female, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexual penetration of 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 Brock's sentence was reduced, which dismayed many people. Brock was not responsible for the actions he committed. The way Brock's father downplayed the situation impacted the victim's and society's perspectives. The father's letter and the case together show that rape culture is still accepted in contemporary society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay As the victim, Brock, and their families went through trials, Brock never accepted his responsibility for sexually assaulting the victim. He didn't say what he had to say in court, he just stayed silent about what it looks like. Brock never apologized personally to the victim and never showed any emotion in court. He said the victim gave consent but was unconscious. “You said you would have stopped and gotten help…That’s why you’ll never have a good answer, that’s what you can’t explain even after a year” ( Buzzfeed 8). Brock running away as soon as the two Swedish students called him shows 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 gotten help, but he didn't show he didn't want to be responsible for her sexual assault. “You said, 'Being drunk, I just couldn't make the best decisions and neither could she... That's the difference' (Buzzfeed 10). The victim explained how regret over drinking and regret over sexual assault were two different things. She also explained that it was not the alcohol that made her undress and begin to sexually assault her. This is an example of how Brock tried to "blame" the alcohol and how the victim was intoxicated, he didn't blame himself. This is also another cause why rape victims cannot speak out in today's society. “He only apologized for drinking and has yet to define what he did to me assexual assault, he continually, relentlessly revictimized me” (Buzzfeed 14). Brock only apologized for drinking and not describing what he had done to her. He does not call this affair a “sexual assault”, he refers to participation in the action, his father thinks so too. This is how he did not keep his accounts. “Brock is not the victim here. He is held responsible because he assaulted someone” (Title IX 11). When the Title IX expert marked up the letter from Brock's father, after Brock said, "His life will never be the one he dreamed of and worked so hard for," she said that he was being held responsible, which he shouldn't have been for making excuses. It's not about him having a great life and future, it's about when he assaulted someone, he did it to himself. Brock's father was trying to make it seem like Brock was the victim because he had a successful life and dreams and now his life is ruined because of his "actions". Brock and his father denied responsibility for the sexual assault. Brock's father limited the situation in this matter, this shows how Brock and his father did not take this seriously. This leaves both the victim and the Title IX expert enraged. After the judge heard what Brock's father had to say, he changed his mind about Brock's sentence and reduced it due to the way Brock's father worded his letter. He talked about Brock's accomplishments and how he has been very good at swimming since he was young. He also mentions that Brock was lonely and had trouble fitting in socially at college. His father said that was what drove him to go to parties and drink alcohol. His father believes that being isolated and not having many friends is to blame. He explained how Brock's life was ruined because of what he did to the victim. He also spoke about Brock's life and personal experiences, without saying anything about the victim or the case. He had to speak for Brock. “That's a high price to pay for 20 minutes of action over 20 years of life. The fact that he must now 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). Those four words, “20 minutes of action,” changed the judge’s position on sentencing Brock. Brock's father doesn't view this as sexual assault, he views it as an action, something Brock was doing. This is how he minimized the situation. He replaced "sexual assault" with "action", which is how the judge thinks: "Oh, you're right, he shouldn't be punished with 14 years for certain acts he committed and while he had a great future awaiting him. » “This is incredibly worrying on many levels. Penetrating someone who is unconscious is not an “action”, it is an assault. Sexual violence is about consent, not how long it took 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, "It's a hard life...years of life." ", this shows that she was very angry at the way Brock's father reframed 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 are trying to rephrase or downplay it to get out of a major problem . “Brock and his family must accept responsibility for the violence he perpetrated and make amends..