What sexual assault victim in their right mind would want to report an attack when the legal community circles the wagons around a judge like Aaron Persky? Representatives from Judge Persky’s campaign continue to attack Emily Doe’s credibility in an attempt to make Persky’s lenient sentencing of her assailant, former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, seem more sympathetic. Just last week, Judge Persky’s lawyer – a $500k donor to his campaign – stated that Brock Turner’s victim “wasn’t really attacked” and accused her of forging her victim impact statement. Any sexual assault survivor reading such remarks will get the message: you will be shamelessly attacked from every possible angle if you come forward about your sexual assault. Similarly, offenders will know that they can engage in nonconsensual sexual contact without consequence. This victim-blaming era that we are living in needs to end. Please vote yes to recall Judge Persky on June 5th.
