In 2016, Brock Turner, a Stanford University student and an all-star swimmer, raped another college student at Stanford, while she lay unconscious after a campus party on a Saturday night. Her identity was kept secret to protect her; in the criminal lawsuit that followed she was known only as Emily Doe. In the sentencing phase of that trial, she bravely wrote and read – in open court – directly in front of her attacker, a ‘victim impact statement’, which to this day remains one of the most searingly powerful and important pieces of writing on this issue.
After the judge inexplicably let Turner off with a slap on the wrist, that focused many of us on the issue even more, especially with how we deal with the apparent inability or unwillingness of our culture to understand and deal with rape culture and with the privileged men who commit these crimes.
The firestorm of criticism that followed opened up a space for men to examine these issues and to change their behaviors and for us all to change what and how we teach our children.
Now – three years later – Emily Doe is back. And she has a name that she is now ready to share with the world: Chanel Miller. And “Chanel [] knows how to write. And Chanel knows how to draw….”
“Nobody wants to be defined by the worst thing that happened to them….No one gets to define them. You do. You do”
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Photo Credit: Chanel Miller/YouTube
.Excellent article and “I Am With You” clip. I am totally impressed by how strong this young woman is. Here’s an idea that might help other women: If editors of local newspapers were to elevate the way women are referred to in print, they could help keep women “humanized.” For example, nix the term “cute blonde” when referring to a female. Also nix “‘tall brunette” and “sassy redhead.” Instead, I want them to consider referring to female strangers as members of community. Ideas: “my friend’s daughter” or “a lawyer” or “the mother of some local students,” depending on the greater… Read more »