In 2012, at the age of 14, Daisy Coleman of Missouri was given a exessive amount of alcohol, sexually assaulted and then dropped off near her house by a 17-year-old student.

Normally, the names of sexual assault victims are not released to the press, but the family and Daisy chose to go public with their story.

After their story went public, Daisy’s mother was fired from her job and the children began receiving threats. They moved from Missouri to Kansas in order to escape the ridicule, according to CNN.

According to Huffington Post, Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert Rice dropped the charges against Daisy’s alleged assailant, citing that there was a lack of evidence and that Daisy and her family had been uncooperative.

Following the dropped felony charges against her alleged attacker and the accomplice who filmed the incident a protest was organized by Courtney Cole and computer-hacking group, Anonymous.

When Rice announced that he was allowing a special prosecutor to take a look, Cole changed the event from a protest to a rally in support of Daisy.

The “Justice for Daisy” rally drew in hundreds, even some people from out of state who were moved by Daisy’s story. Daisy’s mother was delighted by the turnout and thrilled at their chance for justice.

Since the reopening of the case, Daisy’s alleged assailant has been cooperating with authorities, even admitting that he had sex with her that night.

The new special prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker, promises northwest Missouri residents that she will indiscriminately and thoroughly review the case.

It is not uncommon for sexual assault victims to be dismissed and ridiculed, allowing their attackers to get away with their heinous crimes and reinforcing that it is easier to get away with rape than it should be.

In what kind of society do we live where a city reacts to a family’s trauma by sending them threats and dismissing them from their jobs? It is this kind of reaction that perpetuates rape culture.

We live in a world where women are blamed for being assaulted based on what they are wearing or how much they drank, and where men are told that their claims of assault are not sound because “men can’t be raped.”

The most important thing this society needs to learn is that anybody can be sexually assaulted, but it is never
their fault.

There are no blurred lines when it comes to consent and if somebody even seems to be tentative about a sexual encounter, the best thing to do is walk away.

We are in control of our own actions and therefore we are able to prevent ourselves from hurting other people.

We should be thankful for the Courtney Coles and Anonymoues of this world who are fighting to turn our society into one that supports sexual assault victims and works for their justice. Without them, Daisy Coleman’s case would never have had a hope of seeing a courtroom.

There will still be cases that are dismissed. There will be victims who are crucified by the media rather than being consoled by their community.

Women will still have to sit before a judge and jury and describe what they were wearing.

Until these afflictions are eradicated, sexual assault cases will continue to be a media fiasco, but at least this case has become a step in the right direction thanks to all the individuals that have fought for “Justice for Daisy.”