When I think about the punishment for rape, it always includes jail time. Like a lot of it. The laws for rape are complicated and can vary by state, but generally, convicted rapists get jailed.

Well, unless that rapist goes to Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. A student found responsible for raping a woman received the extremely harsh punishment of writing a five-page book report.

A BOOK REPORT. A REPORT ON A BOOK. BASICALLY A FIVE-PAGE SUMMARY ON A BOOK.

You have got to be kidding me. And apparently this is not the first time something like this has happened at Occidental College.

In fact, 37 women from Occidental have filed a complaint to the United States Department of Civil Services with the help of legal superstar Gloria Allred. According to the complaint, these women have all been “raped, sexually assaulted, battered, harassed or retaliated against for speaking out against sexual violence.”

Danielle Dirks, a sociology professor specializing in crime and punishment, explained to the Huffington Post, “The fact that Occidental has invited rapists back to campus and even told survivors not to worry because ‘he’s reformed now’ after these types of inadequate sanctions is an abomination.”

Another complaint was filed against Occidental on April 1st under the Clery Act, stating that “the school underreports campus sexual assaults, discourages victims from reporting attacks and fails to issue timely crime reports.”

Unfortunately, these situations occur far too often on college campuses. Students are raped and are discouraged from filing a report. Or if they decide to speak about their rape, they somehow are the villain. It’s all very, very wrong and sends a horrible message.

Anyone dealing with the violation of being raped is scared enough as it is to report it. And now we’re dealing with schools that don’t respect their students enough to look out for their well-being. It’s a disgrace. I can only hope these women at Occidental are heard and changes are made.

What do you think about the book report punishment? Is it fair? Do you think these women will make a change? Tell us in the comments!
 

Rape is still rape even if you don’t call it rape

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