A longtime advocate for women, Vice President Joe Biden has spoken out in words and actions against the violence against women. After reading the powerful statement by the rape survivor referred to as “Emily Doe,” Biden decided to write an open letter to her.
Emily Doe’s statement, which she read out loud to her rapist in court, was reprinted on Buzzfeed and other social media formats and immediately went viral. People around the world were moved my her words and experience and outraged with the sentence Judge Persky gave Brock Allen Turner for three counts of sexual abuse. Six months in county jail is no more than a slap on the hand and the judge is facing backlash with a petition asking for the removal his position. Making the case even more outrageous is the letter the rapist’s father Dan Turner wrote to Judge Persky basically claiming his son is the real victim.
Vice President Biden helped create the 1994 Violence Against Women Act and its “reauthorization” in 2013. He has been involved in efforts to attenuate campus rape. He appeared on the Academy Awards to introduce Lady Gaga who performed a haunting song about the massive problem. One in five women are sexually assaulted during their lifetimes and one in ten women are raped on college campuses, but with less than 10% reporting, the number of assaults is most likely much more. On Thursday, Biden sent his letter to Emily Doe via Buzzed. Here are several excerpts:
I do not know your name—but your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages. Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write.
I am in awe of your courage for speaking out—for so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity.
And I am filled with furious anger—both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth.
Biden add she was “failed by a culture where college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaulted—year after year after year. A culture that promotes passivity. That encourages young men and women on campuses to “simply turn a blind eye.”
And you were failed by anyone who dared to question this one clear and simple truth: Sex without consent is rape. Period. It is a crime.
I do not know your name—but thanks to you, I know that heroes ride bicycles.
Those two men who saw what was happening to you—who took it upon themselves to step in—they did what they instinctually knew to be right.
The impact Emily Doe has made in immense and the vice president believes is sure to express this to her. He says, “Your words will help people you have never met and never will. You have given them the strength they need to fight.” He believes this young women, through her courage, will saves lives and adds he will never forget her.
In his conclusion the vice president reiterates what Emily Doe and every rape/sexual assault survivor endured is never, “NEVER a woman’s fault.” and he encourages social media to continue sharing her statement/letter/story to drive more national discussion:
And if everyone who shared your letter on social media, or who had a private conversation in their own homes with their daughters and sons, draws upon the passion, the outrage, and the commitment they feel right now the next time there is a choice between intervening and walking away—then I believe you will have helped to change the world for the better.
Thank you, Vice President Biden, for your continued commitment to the equal, reproductive, and basic human rights of every women in America and around the world. And thank you Emily Doe for your courage to speak out.