Rewriting the Sexual Assault Narrative

Applying the Restorative Justice Framework to Campus Sexual Assault Policy

Abstract

In 2016, under the pseudonym Emily Doe, a woman now revealed as Chanel Miller released her victim impact statement after Stanford University freshman Brock Turner sexually assaulted her behind a dumpster. Following its publication on Buzzfeed, the "Stanford victim's" letter amassed millions of reads and contributed to a global reckoning around sexual assault. The now-infamous "Stanford sexual assault case" was not an isolated incident: in 2015, the U.S. Department of Education reported that one in five female college students experiences sexual assault, and only 4% of victims ever report their assault. The lack of college investigation into sexual assault, pressures of nondisclosure, and frightening prevalence of campus sexual assault couple with the powerful voice of Miller's victim impact statement to demonstrate the necessity of incorporating victim-centered narratives into campus sexual assault policy.

Current university practices that prioritize their own interests above victims' further victimize survivors, evoke feelings of institutional betrayal, and perpetuate silence, creating a need to move towards viable solutions that recenter victims and prevent further assault. In a research paper framed by Miller's powerful words, I argue that the framework of restorative justice, a cooperative process of repairing harm through education and discussion of perpetrators' impacts on communities, should be applied to campus sexual assault policy. The use of restorative justice will counter rape myths with victims' narratives, regenerate discussion, and focus on systemic issues to halt cycles of sexual violence. To bolster this argument, I discuss the current impact of responses to sexual assault on survivors, before exploring interviews of survivors and perpetrators of crime as well as statistical data on recidivation rates following restorative justice interventions.