Blog Post (NATIONAL)
Martha Bergmark
Huffington Post
September 7, 2016
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Sexual Assault
Organizations mentioned/involved: Legal Assistance of Western New York, Texas Advocacy Project
DETAILS
In all the rightful outrage about Turner’s punishment, we seem to have lost sight of a broader conversation about what might actually constitute justice for survivors of sexual assault.
The unfortunate reality is that while sexual assault is common, justice for those who have survived it is not. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), only six in a thousand perpetrators of all sexual assaults go to prison. In fact, because two thirds of sexual assaults are not reported to the police, the vast majority of sexual assault cases are never even prosecuted in criminal court.
Clearly, justice for sexual assault survivors goes beyond punishing perpetrators. Justice also means considering what survivors need to heal and move on with their lives. For many of them, legal help is an important and often overlooked part of the solution.