På en studentfest på toppuniversitetet Stanford, USA, utnyttjade och våldförde sig 20-årige Brock Turner på en berusad, medvetslös kvinna bakom en container. Två män såg vad som hände och avbröt, Turner försökte fly, men de lyckades hålla fast honom till polisen anlände till platsen. I veckan dömdes han till endast sex månaders fängelse för sexuellt utnyttjande och domen har skapat stor debatt i USA. Det faktum att Turner var en av skolans simstjärnor och från en rik familj, har fått människor att ifrågasätta om domen varit densamma om det varit en svart eller fattig man som utfört brottet. Folk är arga över de låga straffen för sexuella övergrepp och även på Turners pappas uttalande om hur händelsen ”ödelagt sonens liv”, ”det är ett hårt för straff 20 minuters action” och att det är viktigt att prata om festande och ungdomspromiskuitet i stället för våldtäkt. Han var också ledsen för att sonen som ”älskat att grilla, nu inte vill äta längre.”

Offret läste också upp ett brev i rätten, som hon riktade till Turner och slutligen till alla kvinnor som varit i hennes situation:

You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here today.

When I was finally allowed to use the restroom, I pulled down the hospital pants they had given me, went to pull down my underwear, and felt nothing. I still remember the feeling of my hands touching my skin and grabbing nothing. I looked down and there was nothing. The thin piece of fabric, the only thing between my vagina and anything else, was missing and everything inside me was silenced. I still don’t have words for that feeling.

Alcohol is not an excuse. Is it a factor? Yes. But alcohol was not the one who stripped me, fingered me, had my head dragging against the ground, with me almost fully naked. Having too much to drink was an amateur mistake that I admit to, but it is not criminal. Everyone in this room has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much, or knows someone close to them who has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much. Regretting drinking is not the same as regretting sexual assault. We were both drunk, the difference is I did not take off your pants and underwear, touch you inappropriately, and run away. That’s the difference.

Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment. My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today.

And finally, to girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought everyday for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you. As the author Anne Lamott once wrote, “Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” Although I can’t save every boat, I hope that by speaking today, you absorbed a small amount of light, a small knowing that you can’t be silenced, a small satisfaction that justice was served, a small assurance that we are getting somewhere, and a big, big knowing that you are important, unquestionably, you are untouchable, you are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you. To girls everywhere, I am with you. Thank you.

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