Why Rape is Not a Crime

If you've been following the international news scene, then you are aware of the rape case of Stanford University student Brock Turner who was sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious female. In a bid to appeal his son's sentence, Brock Turner's father penned a letter to the state in which he stated that Brock should not have suffer for "20 minutes of action". Reading the father's letter made me wonder if he would be so willing to pen the same appeal for someone who shoots his son. Would he refer to it as 'a fleeting bad decision'? Would he beg the judge not to send the killer off to jail for a fleeting bad decision, and rather try to understand the emotional toil a jail sentence would have on the killer? 

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Why is rape not considered a crime? I'll tell you why. It is all in the way parents are raising their children. While we raise daughters to ask nicely for whatever they want and not make a fuss if they can't get it, we raise sons to forcefully take what they believe they deserve, and tell them it's OK for them to be 'boys'. Is that what it takes to be a boy? To take what's not yours? Make decisions for unconscious people and take advantage of situations for personal gratification?

Rape is not a crime because parents have ensured their sons do not view it that way. "So you had a few minutes of action on top of an unconscious woman? It's not big deal really. She's too unconscious to feel violated and well, you should simply be given a slap on the wrist". 

What kind of generation are we raising when we blame a female child for not being conscious enough of herself, yet we absolve a male child of blame when he rapes an unconscious female? What kind of generation are we hoping to leave behind when we raise our sons to believe they can forcefully have women - conscious or unconscious, and not feel the need to be punished for their actions. What kind of generation are we raising if we are constantly slut-shaming our female children for rape, and blaming them for creating the 'perfect circumstance'? 

Rape is not a crime because we - society, parents and in some cases even religious gathering have made it so. We have made it a situation that occurs due to the carelessness of a female. She must look after herself because the male child is unable to control himself. Parents it is not too late to teach your sons to respect their female counterparts. It is not too late to teach your sons to be guardians of their female counterparts. I applaud the two young men who reported Brock Turner, but even more importantly, I applaud the parents who raised them. 

Rape is a crime against a person- conscious or unconscious, Brock Turner's father spoke about the psychological torture his son has to endure because of a few minutes of action. What about the torture his victim has to endure psychologically and emotionally because of Turner's actions? Rape is a crime; parents please raise your sons to understand this.