Sign the letter: Stanford Alumni Against Rape Culture

An open letter to the California Commission on Judicial Performance:

As alumni of Stanford University, we are horrified and embarrassed by Judge Aaron Persky's decision to protect a rapist over a survivor.

There should be no place for rape apologists or for victim-blaming in the Stanford community. Yet one of our own, Judge Persky, said he thought Brock Turner, a former Stanford student, "will not be a danger to others" when he handed down Turner's six-month sentence for three convictions of sexual assault.

This attitude significantly undermines the impact that rape has on survivors, and contributes to an already pervasive problem: survivors are hesitant to report sexual assault. In fact, fewer than one-third of rapes are ever reported. And when one in four college women is sexually assaulted, attitudes like that of Judge Persky mean far too many rapists have impunity.

It's long past time that we, as a community, come together to stand with survivors and put an end to rape culture.

And so we, as members of the Stanford community, demand that the California Commission for Judicial Performance remove Judge Persky from his judgeship.

Signed,

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Stanford alumnus Judge Aaron Persky just sentenced Stanford student Brock Turner--who was caught in the act of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman--to only six months in jail.

Why? Because he worried that a prison sentence would have a "severe impact on him"--yes, the rapist--and said, "I think he will not be a danger to others." It's a horrifying example of rape culture: when a judge is more concerned with the well-being of a rapist than with justice or public safety.

The story is making headlines as "The Stanford Rape Case." That's why it's so important that the Stanford community comes together to say we stand with survivors and deplore Judge Persky's decision to take the impact of Turner's assault so lightly. Will you add your name as a Stanford alumnus?

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