The Cast Of ‘Girls’ Have Filmed A PSA On Sexual Assault In The Wake Of The Stanford Rape Case

Note: this post contains discussion of rape and sexual assault.

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This week, you’ve probably read two letters in relation to a sexual assault perpetrated by Stanford University student Brock Turner. The first over the weekend, was a harrowing and important statement from the victim of the attack, a letter that not only frankly outlined that trauma she had and will experience for the rest of her life, but how the U.S. justice system discourages victims from reporting their attackers. If you haven’t read it, you should.

The second letter was written by the father of Brock Turner, bemoaning the ways that this recent guilty verdict has unfairly impacted his son’s life. Our own Alex McKinnon wrote about how this offers an insight into the ways in which rape culture is minimised and dismissed: “Besides being a deeply offensive and wrongheaded piece of thinking, it is a useful tool to understand how a young man can sexually assault a woman, be found guilty by a jury of doing so, and still have no conception that he has done anything wrong”.

Today Lena Dunham and the cast of Girls have released a PSA about sexual assault that Dunham has dedicated to “the brave survivor in the Stanford case who has given so much to change the conversation”. The video advocates listening and supporting victims of sexual assault and suggesting simple and practical ways to help them — one being, don’t automatically doubt what they say.

“We may star on Girls together, but that doesn’t mean we always agree,” Jemima Kirke says (they all have different political leanings and have different ideas of what constitutes an “appropriate undergarments” apparently). “But,” Kirke continues,”There is one issue in which we always agree.”

I dedicate this to the brave survivor in the Stanford case who has given so much to change the conversation. https://t.co/KMOJUxvPu0

— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) June 8, 2016

Although in the video Dunham jokes that in representing support networks for victims, this “may be the first time that four white women can accurately represent anything” the Centre For Disease Control and Prevention statistics are dire. To recap: one in five women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, 80 percent of those attacks will be perpetrated by someone she knows, and one in four girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.

“Why is there a default reaction in society to disbelieve, or to silence, or to shame?” Williams says. “Don’t avoid the hard conversation.”

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If you have experienced sexual harassment or assault, or want to talk about these issues, you can call 1800RESPECT. This service provides 24/7  professional counselling over the phone and is completely confidential.