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The six-month sentence for Brock Turner was more lenient than many would have expected 鈥� or than the six years prosecutors had sought. But in some ways it was terribly ordinary, advocates for rape survivors say. It could even be seen as a rare victory, because unlike an estimated 99 percent of rapes, this one resulted in arrest, trial, conviction, and prison time.

The case might have gone unnoticed by the broader public were it not for the extraordinary statement written by the anonymous survivor, detailing the effect not only of the rape but of all that she has endured in her pursuit of what turned out to not really feel like justice.

Her statement has since been read aloud on CNN and shared and read by millions online, standing in sharp contrast to statements by Mr. Turner鈥檚 family and friends that dwelled on his suffering and the loss of his status as a Stanford student and swimmer.

The case has sparked an effort to recall Santa Clara County (Calif.) Judge Aaron Persky, a planned protest during Stanford鈥檚 commencement this Sunday, and who knows how many family conversations. It鈥檚 a level of outrage 鈥� and an outpouring of support for the survivor 鈥� that is unprecedented and encouraging, say scholars, activists, and legal professionals.

鈥淧eople are saying, enough is enough 鈥� we have to find justice that doesn鈥檛 just punish the people who seek it鈥� after a sexual assault, says Peter Lake, a professor at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla., and an expert on Title IX, the civil rights law that outlines colleges鈥� obligations to respond to sexual harassment and gender violence.

鈥淧ublic attitudes about appropriate punishment often drive change,鈥� Professor Lake says. The Turner sentence has prompted many to wonder if there is 鈥渁n underlying cultural bias鈥� in the legal system and to call for reform similar to what鈥檚 been playing out in recent years on many college campuses.

On campus, a lot of people now 鈥渆xpect the punishment discussion to start with expulsion鈥� 鈥� in contrast to a system that often used to treat rape as a misunderstanding and ask a perpetrator to write a paper, he says. On the criminal justice side, he adds, 鈥淧eople will clamor for more jail time.鈥�

'No overcriminalization here'

Think of it as the flip side of the movements to decriminalize actions such as possession of marijuana and to rely less on incarceration for nonviolent offenses, particularly among juveniles. The tough-on-crime policies that resulted in overcrowded prisons have become widely seen as discriminatory against people of color. But when it comes to rape, much of the public may now side with activists who have long pointed out that not only male privilege, but white privilege, athletes鈥� privilege, and rich people鈥檚 privilege are keeping too many criminals from serving sentences that fit their crimes.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no overcriminalization here,鈥� says Jennifer Gentile Long, CEO of AEquitas: The Prosecutors鈥� Resource on Violence Against Women, in Washington. If anything, she says, 鈥渁 lot of the focus on deincarceration and overcriminalization has inappropriately bled into鈥� some conversations in the legal field around sexual violence.

Out of every 1,000 rapes, only an estimated 344 are reported to police, 63 lead to arrests, 13 are referred to prosecutors, seven lead to felony conviction, and six result in a rapist in prison, according to by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). That compares with 20 robbers and 33 assault/battery perpetrators serving time for every 1,000 of those crimes.聽

The question the Turner case raises is how society should balance the various purposes of the justice system 鈥� to hold criminals accountable, to ensure public safety, to deter more crime, to give the victim a sense of restoration, and to give individuals opportunities to reform and have a second chance.

By speaking up in this instance, the survivor urges that the last item on that list not outweigh the others. 鈥淎s this is a first offence I can see where leniency would beckon. On the other hand, as a society, we cannot forgive everyone鈥檚 first sexual assault鈥�. [W]e should not create a culture that suggests we learn that rape is wrong through trial and error. The consequences of sexual assault needs to be severe enough 鈥� to be preventative,鈥� she wrote in her statement, which she allowed BuzzFeed .

Although 鈥渋t is a significant and sad moment鈥� when someone is sentenced to prison, Ms. Long says, when it comes to rape, the legal system 鈥渘eeds to send a signal that these are serious crimes.鈥�

Signs of improvement

That this case got as far as it did signals improvements in law enforcement and prosecutors鈥� ability to pursue rape charges. But there needs to be much more training about how traumatizing sexual assault is and how common it is for perpetrators to prey on those who are particularly vulnerable, Long and others say.

National dialogue around the judge鈥檚 decision and the statement by Turner鈥檚 father that lamented how much his son鈥檚 life has changed because of 鈥�20 minutes of action鈥� highlights to many that some people identify and sympathize more with the rapist than with the victim.

In an to Judge Persky published in the Stanford Daily,聽Stanford alumnus Ariel Lang encouraged him to study research about trauma and sexual assault 鈥渟o that these harms can be appropriately weighed in sentencing a perpetrator.鈥� It went on to outline some of the short-term and long-term impact on survivors. 鈥淚 am not suggesting vindictiveness,鈥� the letter concluded. 鈥淪upport efforts at restitution, education and healing. But, please, do not minimize the impact of trauma in an effort to spare a convicted perpetrator.鈥�

While thousands of people have signed online petitions supporting the idea of removing Judge Persky, others say that鈥檚 a misguided effort.

The judge chose to follow a probation officials鈥� report recommending a particular sentence, and that process is meant to increase fairness in the system, notes columnist Chris White in on LawNewz.com

Factors such as Turner鈥檚 lack of prior convictions and the level of alcohol in his system were cited in the sentencing recommendation. Typically judges are not removed simply because the public disagrees with a sentence, but because of egregious misconduct, Mr. White writes. Still, the judge had discretion in setting punishment, and Turner鈥檚 three felony convictions could have resulted in as much as 14 years. Prosecutors recommended six years.

Shifting public views

The recall effort may end up being largely symbolic, but the message of public support for survivors seems clearer than ever.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very different than it would have been 10 or 15 years ago 鈥� the response has been almost unanimously pro victim,鈥� says RAINN founder and CEO Scott Berkowitz.

He compares it to the evolution of responses to sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, from a sort of public shrug when they first surfaced to recent 鈥渦niversal scorn鈥� as more and more women have come forward.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been a gradual improvement in understanding that we can鈥檛 give people a pass because they are famous or popular, but I don鈥檛 think that problem has gone away yet,鈥� Mr. Berkowitz says.

The survivor in this case wrote about everything from the difficult forensic examination she underwent at the hospital to the probing personal (and irrelevant) questions the defense attorney used to try to weaken her. She also praised the witnesses who intervened and those who have supported her along the way.

Activists hope the public sympathy her statement has generated will translate into real changes on college campuses and in the criminal justice system.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not an anomaly that she was treated this way,鈥� says Sofie Karasek, co-founder of End Rape on Campus. Campus administrators and people in the criminal justice system do seem to often have the attitude of 鈥渨ell, he can鈥檛 control himself, boys will be boys, this is part of the culture,鈥� she says.

Stanford's response

For its part, Stanford quickly investigated and banned Turner from campus. The victim was not a Stanford student, but on the night of the rape had attended a party there with her sister.

Stanford could be doing more to address the climate on campus, some campus activists say. For starters, Ms. Karasek suggests, it needs to reform its survey of students. The survey鈥檚 definition of sexual assault is too narrow, she says, masking the scope of the problem. According to the survey released last October, 1.9 percent of graduate and undergraduate students had experienced sexual assault, and when looking just at female students, the figure was 4.7 percent.

Turner鈥檚 and some of his supporters鈥� statements 鈥渨ent beyond the pale鈥� in their tone-deaf insensitivity, and 鈥渋f I were Stanford, I would take that as another call to action鈥� in terms of better educating students and parents about issues of sexual consent and sexual violence, says Lisa Maatz, vice president of government relations at the American Association of University Women in Washington.

As public pressure has built this week, some of those supporters have recanted their statements.

鈥淚 did not acknowledge strongly enough the severity of Brock's crime and the suffering and pain that his victim endured, and for that lack of acknowledgement, I am deeply sorry,鈥� wrote Leslie Rasmussen, who attended school with Turner, on her Facebook page.