Summary: End Violence Against Women Coalition responds to Stanford rape case

Rachel Krys, co-director of SRT grantee End Violence Against Women Coalition, has written an opinion piece in Newsweek on the Stanford rape case that saw a white male student Brock Turner, convicted of rape and sentenced to six months in prison.

In the article “Stanford Rape Case: Why young men need to read the statement of Brock Turner’s victim”, Krys explains that the 12-page victim statement – which has since been published in full and gone viral – can provide boys and young men with an insight into the impact that sexual violence has on women and girls. According to Krys, “the statement gives us a better understanding of why up to 85 percent of rapes in the UK are never reported and how devastating sexual violence is for victims.”

The article also discusses the statement made by Brock Turner’s father in the hope of a lenient sentence for his son, and says that this echoes many high-profile cases in the UK “where we’re asked to spare a thought for the reputation of the man who is accused.”

The article also expresses concerns over the growing number of high-profile assault cases on female students, which places a huge responsibility on education institutions to take appropriate action to address the problem, and has led to sexual violence taskforces being introduced in the US and UK to help tackle the problem.

Read the article in full: http://europe.newsweek.com/stanford-rape-case-why-young-men-need-read-statement-brock-turners-victim-467494