In 2012 a young girl in Steubenville, Ohio, was raped at a party, and video footage taken. The two boys who perpetrated the attack were convicted in juvenile court. A CNN reporter covering the sentencing said on-air, “I’ve never experienced anything like it; it’s incredibly emotional … these two young men, with promising futures, star football players, ‘A’ students, literally watched as their lives fell apart.”3 In order to avoid “ruining” a young man’s life, rape is often framed as a “mistake,” “youthful transgression,” or miscommunication rather than as an intentional, violent act.
