WHAT COULD HAVE become another ignored sexual assault case became a momentous international story in summer 2016, thanks to the bravery of the victim whose 7,000 word court statement went viral and profoundly affected those who read it. Even Vice President Joe Biden penned an open response to her statement.

In January 2015 a male student at Stanford University was found thrusting on top of the woman behind a dumpster after a fraternity party on campus. The student, Brock Turner, was fully clothed and conscious. The woman was half-naked and unconscious.

In 2016, Brock was sentenced to six months in prison by Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky.

He served three months.

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Brock is now fighting to overturn his conviction so that he can be struck off the sex offender’s list.

Yesterday, Brock’s attorney argued that he did not commit a crime. His defence is blaming the media for misrepresenting the facts during the case, which they claim led to court proceedings that were ‘unfair’ against Brock.

Wow, blaming the media. Who’s his counsel? Donald Trump?

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In a twist no one anticipated, his attorney Eric Multhaup is now arguing that Brock was merely trying to have ‘outercourse’ with the woman.

What mental gymnastics are these?

Multhaup described “outercourse” as an activity that does not involve vaginal sex and as a “version of safe sex.”

Oh cool, is the Catholic Church teaching this safe sex approach?

Or maybe it’s sex-ed learnt from the Donald Trump School of Thought.

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However, apparently ‘sexual outercourse’ is an actual term. The first known use was in 1986 and it’s defined as:

sexual activity between individuals that does not involve vaginal or anal intercourse.

Right, okay, Brock didn’t have ‘intercourse’ with her. But the UN definition of sexual violence is:

any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.

Eh… so, yeah you’ve committed an act of sexual violence there, Brock.

Also, it’s completely phallocentric (meaning to be focused on or concerned with the phallus or penis as a symbol of male dominance) to argue that you should only be a sex offender for putting your penis into another person’s opening, be it a vagina or an anus. With other forms of violent sex acts you can still get STI’s, you can still be traumatized.

People were unsurprised that ‘This Is America’ under Trump’s presidency.

During the case, Brock’s lawyers and the media consistently referred back to his swimming ability and of his dream of getting onto the Olympic team.

This trend has continued after his conviction, with headlines still referring to him as a ‘Stanford swimmer’ rather than a ‘convicted rapist’.

People on Twitter were calling him ‘former child, Brock Turner’ and ‘eater of meals, Brock Turner’ to highlight how much it does not matter that he’s an above-average swimmer.

Brock’s privilege and entitlement had shone through before he tried playing the ‘sexual outercourse’ card.

Brock’s father at the time of his sentencing inspired outrage, when he penned an open lettering saying that his son couldn’t enjoy a ‘steak dinner’ anymore and that his life would:

never be the one that he dreamed about… a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life.

The mental gymnastics of those around Turner should be turned into an Olympic sport.

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