Biden Writes Open Letter to Stanford Rape Victim

Joe Biden.
Joe Biden. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/2014 Getty Images

Joe Biden, who in the later years of his veep-hood has become an even more outspoken vocal advocate against sexual violence toward women, penned an emotional letter to the brave victim of Brock Turner. The letter appeared on BuzzFeed this morning. We’ve reprinted an excerpt here:

You are a warrior — with a solid steel spine.

I do not know your name — but I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed.

Anyone at that party who saw that you were incapacitated yet looked the other way and did not offer assistance. Anyone who dismissed what happened to you as “just another crazy night.” Anyone who asked “what did you expect would happen when you drank that much?” or thought you must have brought it on yourself.

You were failed by a culture on our 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.

The statistics on college sexual assault haven’t gone down in the past two decades. It’s obscene, and it’s a failure that lies at all our feet.

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.

The full letter, which touches on the country’s collective responsibility to women who are victims of sexual abuse, can be read here.

Biden Writes Open Letter to Stanford Rape Victim