"Emily Doe" and Why She Matters

Local papers have referred to her as "Emily Doe." We do not even know her name, but the worst moment of her entire life has been made public to the world.

She is known as the Stanford Rape Victim. 23 year old "Emily Doe" was attacked by Stanford Student Brock Allen Turner.

Turner was found guilty. Good news, right?

Wrong.

He was sentenced to a mere 6 months in a county jail and probation, with the requirement to register as a sex offender. As Judge Aaron Persky handed down Turner's sentence, he said he understood the "devastation" the victim suffered, but substantial imprisonment would have a "severe" impact on Turner.

It's important to know Judge Aaron Persky does not understand the devastation "Emily Doe" suffered. She will remember that moment for the rest of her life, and she will never be the same.

We live in a world where the "severe impact" on a rapist matters more than the "devastation" of a rape victim. Almost all news articles that refer to the case call the rapist, Stanford University Varsity Swimmer Brock Allen Turner. He is identified by his prestige while "Emily Doe" gets to be identified as a rape victim. This matters.

In her victim's impact statement she wrote, " For a while, I believed that was all I was. I had to force myself to relearn my real name, my identity. to relearn that this is not all that I am. That I am not just a drunk victim at a frat party found behind a dumpster, while you are the All-American swimmer at a top university, innocent until proven guilty, with so much at stake. I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt, who waited a year to figure out if I was worth something."

Unlike what is reflected in Turner's actions, she is worth something. She matters.

They all do. "Emily Doe" is one of millions, and they all matter. Emily addressed other victims in her impact statement, saying "to girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought everyday for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you."

Each and everyone of us owes it to Emily and the other millions of girls who have suffered such a terrible crime to fight for them. We need to stand with them, and stop referring to all the Brock Allen Turner's in the world by their prestige. We need to stop identifying these millions of wonderful girls and women by what happened to them. They are not just "rape victims." They are much more than that. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. They vary in all shape and sizes.

They are human beings, and they matter.