How the justice system lets sexual assault victims down

Updated

Outrage over former Stanford student Brock Turner's lenient sentence for raping a woman in 2015 has been reignited after he was released from prison early. But, as one sexual assault survivor writes, the justice system in Australia deserves as much attention for its failure to hold perpetrators to account.

For legal reasons ABC News is unable to identify the author.

It was a case that was extraordinary not because of its bare, brutal facts, but because it quickly became known around the world.

In January 2015, Brock Turner, then a student of Stanford University in California, sexually assaulted a young woman while she lay unconscious behind a dumpster.

Turner was sentenced to six months in prison, despite case prosecutors recommending he should serve at least six years.

The sentence drew criticism for being too lenient, and yet Judge Aaron Persky — who was later removed by prosecutors from a different sexual assault case and last week removed himself from all criminal cases - said: "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others."

In fact, Turner has now been released from prison, having only served half his sentence. According to the Associated Press, it is not unusual for Santa Clara County jail inmates to serve a shorter sentence if they maintain a clean disciplinary record.

But the fact that he will have served only three months for raping a woman has again sparked outrage over Judge Persky's failure to treat sexual assault with the seriousness it deserves.

When Turner's case was being heard, even people in Australia expressed outrage and disgust.

On social media, many declared that an injustice like this would not occur in this country. One Facebook commenter boldly stated they were: "Proud to be an Aussie, that sort of thing wouldn't happen anywhere but America!"

And yet it does.

Almost two years ago, I was drugged and raped on a night out with friends. Just like the Stanford victim, I had been drinking with people I knew and trusted — not a crime and certainly not deserving of the events that unfolded as a consequence.

But being raped was only the beginning of the difficulties I faced as a victim of sexual assault.

Pursuing justice through the legal system was an arduous and emotionally exhausting process; the system is designed to defend the rights of the accused, with seemingly little regard for the victim.

Before I was sexually assaulted, I believed most women were raped by strangers. But I was wrong.

I was raped by a colleague and friend who I trusted. I woke up the morning after the assault with patchy, unspeakable memories of what had happened: these are seared into my brain and are yet to fade — there are some things you can't forget, no matter how hard you try.

I told my boyfriend, my best friends, my mum. I went to hospital, where I was probed, swabbed, questioned and the incident documented — the medical staff and police were gentle and caring professionals, but the process was invasive, uncomfortable and mentally draining.

I was sure the police wouldn't believe me — that no-one would believe me — and that my life would only become impossible once I reported what had happened.

Life didn't become impossible, it turned out, but it often felt that way. The violation of my privacy throughout the trial process and the dramatic change in the way I was treated by people after they found out affected my self esteem.

The bullying and harassment I experienced at my workplace eventually led me to resign and contemplate a different career.

Working in a male-dominated industry had taken its toll and I'd had enough; being labelled by my colleagues — who believed him, not me — as a 'liar', 'slut' and 'home-wrecker' left me feeling alienated and unsupported.

Victim blaming culture is only the beginning

It is estimated that only 20-25 per cent of all sexual assaults in Australia are reported to police, and as a survivor, I can understand why.

The stigma surrounding sexual assault is suffocating — our rampant culture of victim blaming and shaming makes it harder for victims to speak about, let alone report their experience.

This culture implies women are responsible for men raping them — perhaps they'd been drinking, or maybe they wore the 'wrong' clothes and were 'asking for it'.

It's not only men who victim blame, either. In a letter to the judge, Leslie Rasmussen, a childhood friend of Brock Turner's, blamed his victim for drinking too much alcohol, insisting it had all been a "huge misunderstanding".

It was unfair, she said, "to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn't remember anything."

But victims of sexual assault face another big problem: the legal system.

Sexual assault is one of the hardest offences to successfully prosecute in Australia, where approximately 85 per cent of offences never come to the attention of the criminal justice system.

Legislation and court processes vary between states, but in NSW only 19 per cent of adult cases of sexual assault result in criminal proceedings being initiated.

This is partly because reporting rape is re-traumatising and a significant deterrent for victims, but also because the structure of the justice system and lengthy court processes are difficult for victims to endure.

I found the entire process frustrating and invalidating and wanted to give up so many times. Empathy from people around me meant nothing when the system bullied me into feeling worthless.

It's hard just getting to court: delays and priorities

In New South Wales, sexual assault cases are supposed to be given priority due to the unknown trauma the victim may be experiencing.

And yet the 'accelerated' process takes, on average, more than two years from the date of the offence to the date the court trial begins.

During the court process prosecutorial discretion is exercised, with 38 per cent of cases being withdrawn — nearly half of these are due to victim reluctance to proceed. (Of cases that are withdrawn, 72 per cent are done so before indictment is even filed — that is, before the defendant is charged/notified.)

Awaiting a court mention date so the case can be committed is an emotional rollercoaster.

Once the police had completed an investigation and ascertained the pertinent evidence of my case, the accused was arrested and released on bail.

Cases are then heard in the Local Court and must be committed to the District Court for trial. My case was mentioned locally repeatedly over many months before being committed.

My life was put on hold as I waited for justice. Even after finally being assigned a trial date, cases can still be delayed further if another takes higher priority.

I seriously contemplated dropping mine after it was bumped yet another six months: I feared I had nothing left. I had no energy, no faith in the system. I questioned why I had ever bothered going to the police.

But I knew that if I gave up, he would never stand trial. I wanted to prevent other women from becoming victims, I wanted to believe in justice.

Why so few victims find justice

But few of us do find justice. Defendants of sexual assault charges are three times more likely to be acquitted than those accused of any other offence.

Of the 21,380 victims of sexual assault recorded by Australian police in 2015, only roughly 10 per cent will have resulted in a guilty verdict.

In order for a person to be convicted of sexual assault in NSW, prosecution is required to prove beyond reasonable doubt that consent was not given.

But given the legal complexity of consent, it can be difficult to prove and often comes down to the defendant's word against the victim's.

Having my case finally make it to court — more than two years after I made my initial statement to police — was yet another hurdle.

The 12 strangers who made up the jury scrutinised every word that came out of my mouth. Nauseated and shaking, I sat through more than five hours of interrogation and accusation, reliving the ordeal in excruciating detail.

My character was questioned over and over by the defence barrister, who was relentless in her desire to trip me up, find flaws in my account. All the while, the accused sat in court saying nothing, exercising his legal right to remain silent.

Sentences can amount to 'a slap on the wrist'

As I contemplated the sacrifice I was making in pursuing justice, I weighed up the good behaviour bond that could likely be his punishment.

(If a guilty verdict is reached in a sexual assault case, sentences are notoriously light, ranging from a good behaviour bond to a custodial sentence (prison); the average is 34 months, and often much lower for a first offence.)

Not one part of my life was unmarked by what he did to me, yet his potential sentence, if we even made it that far, could amount to a slap on the wrist.

The final insult for me came when a verdict was returned: not guilty. I wept. My family wept. They rallied around me, and supported me until I was able to make it through the day alone.

When news of Brock Turner's sentence broke, outrage spilled across the internet, with petitions and articles demanding justice for his victim. A campaign to unseat Judge Persky for his failure to take sexual assault seriously has gained significant momentum.

But surely it's time we demanded justice for all victims of sexual assault. The sentencing laws in Australia have a maximum and an average: why is it that the maximum penalty is so rarely the actual?

When I can't even say the word 'rape' without someone flinching, I have to wonder exactly what is holding our legal system back from advancing to a stage where it is a true representation of community standards and expectations.

Enough is enough.

If this story brings up issues for you, there are people you can talk to. 1800 RESPECT deals with sexual assault. If you don't want to talk, you can access their website. You can also talk to Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or access their website.

Topics: women, feminism, alcohol, sexual-offences, courts-and-trials, australia

First posted