Indeed, you probably already know Brock Turner’s name, the Stanford student who in 2015 was sentenced to just six months jail (he served three) of a possible 14 years, after being found guilty of sexual assault, and after a judge was swayed by a number of letters noting his ‘good character’.
But you haven’t heard Miller’s name, until today — although you may recall the incredible statement she read during Turner’s sentencing, which ultimately helped raise further public outcry over Turner’ short sentence.
Chanel Miller, a San Francisco resident, is now 27 years old and speaking out.
This month she will also publish her memoir, Know My Name, and appear on 60 Minutes.
Miller delivered her powerful statement back in 2016 leading to global discussions on how sexual assault is addressed — and punished — and including the unforgettable line, “You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside of me.”
“My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition,” she said on how the assault had affected her life.
Turner was convicted on three counts of felony sexual assault. His six month jail sentence was considered woefully inadequate — the fact he served just three of those six, simply devastating.
An online petition featuring more than 400,000 signatures ultimately contributed to the removal of the judge at the centre of the case, Aaron Persky. He was accused of being too concerned about the male attacker, a “star swimmer” who came from a ‘good’ family.
Miller’s publisher Penguin Random House says on the book, “Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.”
And it will give Miller an opportunity to own her identify, after four years of being ‘Emily Doe’.
She has been known to the world as “Emily Doe,” the sexual assault victim of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner. Now she’s revealing her name and face. Chanel Miller, here reading her victim impact statement, gives her first interview to “60 Minutes” https://t.co/U4GDOofVj6 pic.twitter.com/cpVMwCZ4Sk
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 4, 2019
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