Campaign Against Rape
Women dance to the theme song of the "One Billion Rising" campaign in New York City's Washington Square Park as the clock strikes 2:14EST on Valentines Day February 14, 2013. "One Billion Rising" is a campaign aimed to call an end to violence against women and girls. This date marks the 15th Anniversary of when V-Day was founded by award-winning playwright Eve Ensler and the One Billion Rising campaign is based on the statistic that 1 in 3 women will be beaten or raped in her lifetime according to organizers. Reuters

Thanks to the video taken by one football player of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, the 21-year-old female rape victim learned she was sexually assaulted by two other footballers. The clip also helped plac the two culprits behind bar soon since it was used as evidence in court.

After 12 days of trial and three hours of deliberation, the Nashville jury found on Tuesday footballers Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, both 21, guilty of raping the student who is a neuroscience and economics major in the same university, reports the Washington Post.

Vandenburg and the victim used to date and he used a date rape drug on Jan 23, 2013, to cause her to become unconscious. When she woke up, she was in the room of Vandenburg who claimed she passed out and vomited, and he bought her in his room to recover.

She had no recollection of being raped, but authorities who saw her on surveillance camera footage being carried by the football players urged the victim to have herself physically examined.

Vandenburg and Batey are facing the prospect of 15 to 60 years in prison. Vandenburg actually didn’t sexually violate the victim, but he was nevertheless charged with rape because he encouraged Batey and two more athletes, who haven’t faced trial for their crime, to molest the woman.

The two were convicted of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted, aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

The jury rejected the two player’s defense that they were too drunk to know what they did and instead blamed the college culture of binge drinking and promiscuous sex.

The two others involved, Brandon Banks and Jaborian McKenzie, will soon be tried.

Jane Stapleton, a rape intervention expert from the University of New Hampshire, reminded that victim that she is not to be blamed for what happened to her, while the victim assured other sexual violence victims that they are not alone.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au

RELATED STORIES