Vice President Biden penned a letter on Thursday to a survivor of sexual assault at Stanford University, commending her bravery.

“I do not know your name—but I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed,” Biden wrote in an open letter published on BuzzFeed.

“It must have been wrenching—to relive what he did to you all over again. But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The victim, who has not made her identity public, read a message to her assailant in court detailing the effects of the rape on her life. The attacker in her case, Brock Turner, was only sentenced to six months in prison. Turner could have received up to 14 years.

Her statement was posted on BuzzFeed and read by millions, leading to nationwide outrage. Critics called Turner's punishment a light sentence that doesn't match the severity of the crime and said it highlights how courts don't do enough to help victims of rape and sexual assault.

The judge had said a longer sentence could have a "severe impact" on Turner's life.

Turner, a champion swimmer, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault. He was found assaulting the unconscious 23-year-old woman behind a dumpster.

His father, Dan Turner, also wrote that his son's sentence is "a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 years of life," drawing criticism.

"And I am filled with furious anger—both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth," Biden wrote.

Biden has long been a public voice against sexual assault on college campuses. He called the lack of attention on the matter "a failure" of all Americans.

"The statistics on college sexual assault haven't gone down in the past two decades," Biden wrote. "Like I tell college students all over this country—it's on us. All of us.

"We all have a responsibility to stop the scourge of violence against women once and for all."