I was thinking about the Brock Turner case as I wrote this story. Things work in England with the press much like they do here in these cases. The British like to think of themselves as tolerant and progressive, not without some justification.

But many Brits are hesitant to admit, or perhaps don’t fully realize, that levels of anti-LGBTQ violence have been rising in the UK just like in the US, so there’s some denial going on.

Some reactions have centered around a desire to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment in the criminal justice system, especially with youthful offenders.

While that’s laudable to an extent, a big part of the problem in this case really is homophobia. Turner isn’t all that “sympathetic” to a lot of people. He’s an brashly effeminate gay man who does drag and parties.

While nobody is saying out loud that he brought on the assault (his second in a year) himself, a subtle undercurrent of victim shaming pervades news coverage and public reaction I’ve seen.

Sadly, going public just hasn’t been very effective for Ryan Turner.