For about eight months now, the media has been covering the controversial rape case in Steubenville, Ohio. On the night of August 11th, 2012, a 16-year-old girl was reportedly raped by two high school football players at a party. The two boys, as well as many other peers, took pictures and videos over a six-hour period of several acts of sexual abuse. This included the rape itself, and they were posted on multiple social media sites. In the photos and videos, the girl was clearly unconscious from consuming too much alcohol, which means she was completely unable to consent to any of these activities. The trial came to an end in March when the two boys were convicted of rape and sentenced to time in a juvenile facility. There they will undergo treatment and become registered as sex offenders.

Due to the nature of this event surrounding too much alcohol and social media posts, this case has created controversy among the public. An issue that nearly always comes up in any rape case is whether or not the victim is to blame for their own assault.

In this case, the girl drank far too much alcohol, including four shots of vodka, two beers, and a slushy vodka mix, according to CNN.com. Clearly she was unable to consent to anything, which makes her rape legitimate. However, some people believe that everyone has control over their own actions, so the girl had control over the amount of alcohol that she consumed. She chose to drink as much as she did, and some people would say that she caused her own rape.

This is an outlook that is seen by many people when rape cases like these circulate the news. A perspective like this is terrible and it is ridiculous to accuse anyone of deserving a crime as severe and violating as this. Although the young girl should have known better and should have been in more control of her actions, in no way should it be said that she was asking to be raped. Under the influence or not, if someone does not or cannot consent to a sexual activity, it should qualify as rape.

To make matters worse, the events were posted on social media sites, which takes this case to a whole new level. Not only was the girl ridiculed and taken advantage of by her peers during the parties, but the events were exposed to the public to be viewed repeatedly by others who were not even present. This is another crime in itself, and to say that anyone deserves exposure like this is terrible.

Because of the young ages of the victim and the accused, this case is a difficult one. No one wants to see young people go through anything circumstance like this. However, the bottom line is this young girl was raped and taken advantage of by these two boys, and they must suffer the consequences for what occurred. It is undeniable that the young girl was not in any state to consent to the activities that occurred that night. Whether or not she had initial control over her consumption of alcohol, she did not have control once she went into an unconscious state, so she cannot be blamed for what happened to her that night. No one, in any case, asks to be violated and humiliated in such a way.