Outrage is the word I would use to describe the general sentiment seen across social media and numerous news outlets discussing Brock Turner’s recent release from jail. 

In January 2015, Turner was caught raping an unconscious woman behind dumpsters on Stanford’s campus. This past March, Turner was convicted of three felony counts that could have resulted in his spending up to 14 years in prison even though prosecutors only pushed for a six-year sentence, according to the LA Times. 

Instead, the judge gave Turner a much more lenient sentence of six months which resulted in his actually serving a total of only three months behind bars for the assault. 

His recent release has reignited the public outrage over how someone found guilty of rape could receive such a light sentence. Some argue that his race and privileged socioeconomic status contributed to his extremely light sentencing.

 While I would agree, the dilemma surrounding this case speaks to another problem in our society: the lack of seriousness with which our legal system handles sexual assault cases.

Although I consider a mere three month sentence to be an affront to a judicial system that should have done more to protect the victim, I cannot help but think, “Well, at least this rapist got something.” 

To me, the true tragedy of Brock Turner’s conviction is that his three-month period in jail is more of a victory than most rape victims ever recieve in terms of their rapist’s punishment. 

This is not to say that we should not be angered by the lack of seriousness with which Turner’s case was handled during his sentencing. 

I believe we should. But it is important that we do not limit our outrage to this one case. It is crucial that we extend our concern to the fact that many sexual assaults are never reported and those which are reported hardly ever end with a punishment for the accused offender.

A Center for Disease Control study recently identified that one in five women and one in 71 men will be victims of sexual assault, but the National Sexual Violence Resource Center found that 63 percent of these sexual assaults remain unreported. 

There are many reasons why both women and men do not report rape or sexual assaults that contribute to such a high number of unreported assaults. 

Many victims fear that they will not be believed, so they remain silent. While it may be easy to dismiss this as a fear the victims should just get over, it is not so simple. 

The National Sexual Violence Research Center also noted in a review of research conducted in eight U.S. cities, only 2 to 10 percent of reports were false accusations. 

However, the public’s general belief is that false accusations occur more than they actually do. 

There are a host of other reasons that cause victims of sexual assault to reconsider reporting their crime. Some victims may fear offender retaliation, worry about how reporting the crime will affect their loved ones, or wish to avoid the lengthy process of going to trial. 

Whatever the reason is that prevents a victim from speaking out, the outcome is a shockingly low number of offenders ever receive any sort of real reprimand for their actions. 

When a group called End Violence Against Women International accounted for the underreporting of sexual assaults, it found that only a mere “5 percent of rapes are ever prosecuted.” 

This number should be especially alarming as we consider the national outrage over Brock Turner only spending three months in jail. In context of the study by End Violence Against Women’s findings, Turner’s outcome is part of a very small group of offenders. 

What will it take for us as a nation to exhibit the same reaction over the other approximately 95 percent of offenders who never even see a courtroom? 

Part of what needs to happen in order to confront the problems associated with rape in our society is how rape is defined. 

While many people may not think that simply redefining what we consider rape to be of consequence, it could alter not only how cases are prosecuted but also their outcomes. 

For example, a CNN article points out that under previous California law, rape by force was considered to be more serious and carried a lengthier sentence, than rape of an unconscious person or someone who is unable to provide consent due to intoxication. 

Following the Turner case, California legislators passed Assembly Bill 2888 to make sure the latter instances of rape are treated with the same severity. 

By simply redefining what is considered rape, prosecutors and court officials are now equipped to prosecute those accused of sexual assault with a level of severity they may not have been able to otherwise.

While I am glad discourse and outrage over sexual violence in the U.S. occurred following the Brock Turner case, I fear that it will stop at that: just discourse. 

We do not need more people who only care about issues while they are the hot topic of discussion at dinner; we need people who will advocate until the issue no longer needs discussion. If our anger over Brock Turner’s case stops with an angry tweet or shared article on Facebook, then what have has our discussion actually done? 

We must extend the sentiment of our outrage to the other 95 percent of cases that never even reach a situation where a court decision is made. 

This is applicable for me as well. It is simple for me to sit here at my keyboard and share my frustrations regarding policy changes and why we must alter our perceptions on sexual violence and rape in society, but what will I do to ensure it does not remain just an article? 

We can all play a role in contributing to a solution that will redefine the way we perceive and handle sexual assaults in society and especially on our college campus. 

Start by understanding that the definition of rape is not limited to when force is use and that false reports are extremely rare. Recognize that rape culture is a phenomenon that demands us all to end the tendency to blame victims. 

We must then replace this tendency with fervent support of victim advocacy programs and policies that provide victims with a voice. It is this voice that will slowly chip away at the high statistics of rape cases that remain largely all too unknown to the public.