Social Media Speaks: There's No Place for Brock Turners on College Campuses.

Note: this story discusses the sensitive topics of rape culture and sexual assault.

Last week, Brock Turner received what most people have called a "lenient" sentence of 6 months in county jail for raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. The sentence sparked an outrage, and people took to social media to voice their reactions:

Social media users pointed out problematic aspects of rape culture-- including rape justification and victim blaming-- and initiated their own remedy to the solution when the system failed to support the survivor. Here are some ways social media has combated rape culture: 

Confronting the double standard of how rapists are portrayed.

Mainstream media has been spinning Brock Turner, rapist, into Brock Turner, victim of a "lack of compassion".  Just taking a quick look at how he's being presented on news sites is revealing. To them, he is an "ex swimmer", "aspiring Olympian", or "all-American boy". And for his "mugshot", they portray him positively, in a suit and smiling:

 Social media users have been quick to point out this double standard and how Turner's privilege as a white, male, athlete from a prestigious university played a large role in both how he's being perceived, and in reducing his sentence.

A lot of his sympathizers will say he's young, hasn't committed any crimes, and has a bright future ahead. But as social media has pointed out: Turner can be a son, a swimmer, a Stanford student, and "all-american boy, but he can be a rapist too, which he is. They're not mutually exclusive. His "good" traits neither cancel out the fact that he raped someone, nor that he caused irreparable damage to the survivor.

Social media users have actually played a massive role in how Turner is being portrayed in the mainstream media. Their social influence has been so large, that many mainstream media sites are now posting headlines and articles that are much more consistent and supportive of the survivor, and less sympathetic of the rapist. Curbing the power of victim blaming on sexual assault narratives, social media has shifted the paradigm of how rapists like Brock Turner are appraised.

Quick to shut down privilege and victim based blaming.

 As of one day ago, Turner's childhood friend blamed the sexual assault conviction on "political correctness", not on the fact that her "childhood friend" actually raped an unconscious woman, putting the life of the survivor at risk. And a few days before, Turner's Dad's response to the entire situation went viral as well. In the letter he penned, Dan Turner explains how the sentence is a "steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action" which was spurred its own backlash:

Twitter user, Ali Ozeri edited the letter Turner's father wrote to portray the story more accurately:

Which also went viral. And other users called out Dan Turner for the privilege that allowed him to write the letter in the manner he did:

Social media provided the space for people to refute the toxic attitudes of sympathizers like Turner's father, and his childhood friend. Rather than allowing someone to dismiss a case based on red herrings like the inability to eat steak, or political correctness, social media users were able to hold Turner 100% accountable for the harm he's caused, with really no way to justify it. 

Launching a recall petition against injustice.

When taking into account that successfully convicted rapists can face up to 20 years in prison, it seems that Judge Aaron Persky provided Turner with a light sentence of six months in county jail, "despite a unanimous guilty verdict, three felony convictions, the objections of 250 Stanford students, Jeff Rosen the district attorney for Santa Clara, and the deputy district attorney who likened Turner to " a predator searching for prey". Persky's reasoning was based on "Turner's character, lack of criminal history and remorsefulness".

Social media was quick to take action, taking charge in efforts to recall judge Aaron Persky. In less than 20 hours, the Change.org petition to recall Persky has received over 210,000 signatures.

Rather than accept the situation as definitive, people on social media have taken initiative to address this injustice. Rallying off of each other to make the world a better place for everyone including survivors, they took the first steps in removing power from those not only those who help perpetuate rape culture, but also those who commit rape.

Closing Thoughts

One last, and very important thing social media has allowed for, is probably the most impacting. Social media gave the sexual assault survivor a voice in a society where survivors often go voiceless. Because of the overwhelming amount of the support behind the survivor, she felt safe enough to publish her account. Should the social media space been hostile towards survivors like her, this would not be possible.

It's tragic when survivors must undergo so much trauma and pain because of the selfish, and reckless actions of others. And it can make it worse when it feels like nobody is listening, and nothing is being done to deliver justice. I've been in the same boat, as a survivor myself.

Seeing how social media has been so receptive as an ally for this young woman, challenging the unwarranted justifications for rape, and taking action into its own hands is a testament to social media's ability to transform conversations, advocate for social issues, and take action.

What are your thoughts and reactions? Do you think social media played a large role in this story? How has news consumption and attitudes around sexual assault changed since the emergence of social media?

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Author's Note: This piece is near and dear to my heart -- I was sexually assaulted almost a year ago, and I've seen how it impacts people when I was a sexual assault prevention educator. While I understand people are sick of writers giving a rapist more "airtime" than he deserves, please do understand that this article is about the positive trends we're seeing with our society-- people are supporting survivors more than ever, and holding rapists accountable, rather than blaming the victims. In addition, it's important to address the intersections of sexuality, and gender: to say only straight women are assaulted, or men who are assaulted are "gay" does nothing to support survivors of sexual violence. Thanks for reading.

Kunal has volunteered at an elephant and rhino orphanage in Kenya, was a nationally ranked video game player, and has taught a university accredited Mean Girls. Currently, he is the founder of a research based non-profit, and a student at UC Berkeley double majoring in rhetoric and psychology. He enjoys writing about the intersection of people, business, and psychology. You can follow him on Twitter or send him any wonderful insights you may have to kunal@berkeley.edu.

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