Brock Turner, who served only three months after being convicted of rape in 2016, is now the literal textbook definition of the word.
Pre-law student Hannah Kendall Shuman, who attends Washington State University, spotted Turner’s face in her criminal law textbook, ‘Introduction to Criminal Justice: Systems, Diversity and Change 2nd Edition‘.
It sits next to the subheading, ‘Rape’.
“Brock Turner, a Stanford student who raped and assaulted an unconscious female college student behind a dumpster at a fraternity party, was recently released from jail after serving only three months. Some are shocked at how short this sentence is. Others who are more familiar with the way sexual violence has been handled in the criminal justice system are shocked that he was found guilty and served any time at all. What do you think?”
She posted a photo of the textbook to Facebook, where it’s been shared almost 100,000 times.
“He may have been able to get out of prison time but in my Criminal Justice 101 textbook, Brock Turner is the definition of rape, so he’s got that going for him,” she said.
She told the Daily Dot that she was “surprised but very happy” to see Turner in there, and that while her professor hadn’t discussed the case specifically, they had talked about the ongoing problem of male violence.
“[My professor] has talked about the frighteningly low amounts of rape victims who actually see justice as well as the large amounts of male on woman violence that goes unseen or swept under the rug in America,” she said.
She also told the Huffington Post that she’s “glad [Turner’s] name is resurfacing.”
Turner is a registered sex offender in Ohio. He has two years left of probation.
If you or someone who know has experienced sexual assault or violence, you can access 24/7 counselling by calling 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
