By Jacqueline C.
Outraged protesters gather outside during the trial.
(Photo courtesy of ABC News)
In August 2012, a 16-year-old girl was raped by members of Ohio‘s Steubenville High School football team and was forced to relive it as photos and videos of the assault spread rapidly on the internet. On March 17th of this year, the perpetrators, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, were convicted of a juvenile charge of rape. The minimum one year of prison pales in comparison to the lifetime of trauma ahead for the victim. An outpouring of Internet support helped popularize the case and put public pressure on law enforcement to pursue these young men. The group Anonymous petitioned and protested for the victim as well as Change.org that supported her with petitions throughout and after the trial. The Steubenville case brings to light deeper issues that our culture has created but neglects to find a solution to. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), 97% of rapists will never see a day in jail, a startling fact that only confirms the growing dangers of America‘s "rape culture," a term coined to define society‘s normalization of sexual violence. Some unnerving media coverage of the event showed sympathy for the boys and their futures, and little consideration for the culture we‘ve created that condones sexual violence. CNN reporter Poppy Harlow stated: "These two young men who had such promising futures -- star football players, very good students -- literally watched as they believed their life fell apart," which outraged many as she seemed to apologize for the teens guilty of assaulting and humiliating an innocent girl. Two Steubenville students were arrested for threatening the victim over Twitter for igniting the trial.
Colleen (‘14) was shocked by this and said, "I was surprised when I found that people actually supported the boys just because they were 'football heroes'. The girl is made to feel ashamed, and that‘s absolutely not how she should feel. She was the victim, not the boys." Many see rape prevention as the responsibility of the victim, when it is in fact society‘s responsibility to admonish sexual violence, condemn the guilty, and support victims.
It's truly sickening that we live in a world where violence is seen as acceptable by so many people. Instead of supporting the criminals who committed this horrible act, we should be supporting the poor girl who was victimized. It really says something about our own culture today, to see so many people supporting criminals.
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