Courage, Grace and Strength Under the Most Insurmountable Odds

Posted on June 4, 2016 Updated on July 10, 2017

Trigger Warning: This post, and the article shared, feature a rape victim’s frank and explicit statement to the man who raped her.  Please share with women and men, responsibly.

I have written about serving as an adviser to a college sorority for many years.  The experience forever changed me as a woman.

One of the most difficult subjects I encountered was how to frame the conversations around sex and consent.  This was before colleges and universities recognized rape, sexual assaults, sexual batteries and every point on that continuum as a violation of a student’s rights, according to the school’s own policies.

How I wish websites like Consent Is Everything had existed to give me tools on how to broach this delicate subject.  How I wish I had known what constituted consent when I was a college student. I would have recognized that I too was a victim of acquaintance rape.   And I would have known that it is far more common than we can imagine.

But, what happens when a brave young woman comes forward to share how she was unimaginably violated by a “star athlete?”  Why does she have to justify her actions, when he was the one who committed rape upon her?  Why is she the one whose morals and character are called into question?   And, how does she react when faced with the reality that his “status” may have ensured preferential treatment by the justice system?

What happens is this brilliantly heartbreaking victim’s statement, as shared by Buzzfeed’s news reporter, Katie Baker Here’s The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read To Her Attacker.

To the woman who stood strong, surrounded by people who loved and supported her, I say – your mission in life is ahead of you.  Each time you speak truth to power, you are helping another person.

To Brock Allen Turner, I say – may Karma find you. Repeatedly. For the rest of your miserable life, you rapist.