Rehabilitation versus Redemption Of course, the question of forgiveness goes a lot deeper than whether or not a perpetrator apologizes. The ways that our society views and labels offenders have a major sway over recidivism and rehabilitation. The term “rehabilitation” often calls to mind people who are struggling with addiction. With hard work and support, they can overcome their struggles and go on to lead fulfilling lives. But Prasun is quick to highlight the differences between a heroin addict and a sex offender. To Prasun and many others, the idea of rehabilitation is not applicable to offenders. “Rehabilitate rapists? They don’t fucking deserve it . . . This isn’t an addiction . . . You ruined your own life. And now you cannot fix it. It is not fixable, ever,” Prasun says. “These are people who are horrible people, who have no morals, who don’t deserve kindness.” This, then, is our society’s prevailing opinion of offenders. A reaction like this is common, and pretty understandable for people who have witnessed the impact that sexual assault has on their loved ones. But while we tend to characterize offenders as “horrible people,” Laundra cautions against such labeling. “From this perspective, it’s not so much the deviant or criminal act that is committed that counts but, rather, how the community responds to that act. So, when an act of deviance (like sexual assault) is committed, it is the society, community or group who dictate how that act is perceived and, thus, 24
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what consequences will befall the ‘offender,’” Laundra writes. “It can also transform the offender into a downward spiraling self-fulfilling prophecy where the offender submits to the label and begins to act in ways that confirm, or conform to, that label (reoffending). And the label ‘sex offender’ is probably the most severe label one can be given in our society.” Even though most sexual assault cases never make it to the courtroom, our society is judge and jury. But of course, our society is historically wrong when it comes to social justice issues, and the handling of sexual assault and the rehabilitation or punishment of offenders is no different. Our biases play a major role in how we handle—or fail to handle—justice. “I think even though we are a society of justice, or we preach that we’re a society of justice, we’re a society of vengeance,” Prasun says. She’s quick to point out that vengeance is not equally delivered. She cites the prison system as an example: With a drug charge, a Black person might get arrested, while a white person gets “a slap on the wrist” or community service. Similarly, wealthy people receive social backlash for crimes while poor people are jailed. The question of who gets canceled versus whose life is genuinely ruined often depends on your place in society. Let’s take one last look at Brock Turner. A blond, blue-eyed Stanford student with Olympic swim team aspirations rapes a woman of color and spends three months in jail. He didn’t fit our typical (discriminatory) idea of who a rapist is. He was affluent and athletic. And the judge
who gave him the light sentence was a Stanford alum. Perpetrators like Turner are often able to move on with their lives with few consequences. There are a lot of issues with a justice system that punishes some and expects only an apology from others. In the end, the question of forgiveness doesn’t have a clear-cut answer. It seems that while it’s hard to decide who deserves forgiveness, it’s ultimately our society—all of us collectively—that makes that decision. And some of us aren’t quick to forgive.
“I think even though we are a society of justice, or we preach that we’re a society of justice, we’re a society of vengeance,” Prasun says.
