This the story of the systematic destruction of 80 lives to assuage one man’s insecurities about his masculinity. On February 24, producer and film industry mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted on two counts: one of first degree criminal sexual assault and one of third degree rape. Two predatory sexual assault charges against Weinstein were dropped, indicating that the jury did not believe actress Annabella Sciorra’s testimony against him. 

 Weinstein will remain in jail for 5-29 years. Even though he’s 67, in poor health, and will likely die in prison, dropping the predatory sexual assault charges sets a dangerous precedent of leniency for powerful white men. This man is almost worse than a murderer. Killing one person is unthinkable, but then that person will not feel pain for the rest of their life. By molesting, assaulting, or raping over 80 women, Weinstein gave his victims PTSD, trauma that they will carry with them as long as they live.

So many rapes and sexual crimes go unreported because the victims don’t want to relive the horror of their violation, and justifiably so. So while six brave women testified, looked their assaulter in the eye, exposed to the entire world something that they probably wanted to forget forever, we can’t expect or demand that any more women take their accusations to court. It reveals the fallibility of our justice system that the sufferers must always make the sacrifice.

Sexual assault is generally defined as unwanted sexual contact without explicit consent; Weinstein is undoubtedly guilty of this. Sexual abuse constitutes unwanted, forceful sexual activity, threats, and taking advantage of those who have not given or are unable to provide consent. “Weinstein is a vicious serial sexual predator who used his power to threaten, rape, assault, trick, humiliate and silence his victims,” said Cyrus Vance, Jr., the Manhattan District Attorney who sat in the front row of the courtroom. The producer manipulated women by promising to further their careers if they performed sexual favors for him. Can we just call this what it is: sexual abuse?

The minimum sentence for continuous sexual abuse is twenty-five years. Considering the atrocities that Weinstein has committed, his potentially much shorter sentence feels like a slap on the wrist. Weinstein caused harm to 80 women. Let that number sink in. Yusuf Salaam, a Black man, was incarcerated for 14 years for allegedly raping one victim until he was finally exonerated by DNA evidence. Oh also, he was a child – a fifteen-year-old boy – at the time of his conviction. Why are Black men who commit sexual violence characterized as vicious monsters while their white counterparts are misguided buffoons?

Weinstein’s defense attorneys argued that the women consented to have sex with him in order to advance their careers in the film industry and only started to consider their experiences as non-consensual after later media reports accused the producer of sexual harrassment. But even if this is true (which, given the breadth and diversity of the allegations, it most likely is not), the women may not have realized their sexual experiences were non-consensual because they have been indoctrinated by a patriarchy that stigmatizes both modesty and promiscuity, robs them of their sexual agency, both subtly and blatantly tells them that they exist for male pleasure and don’t deserve any of their own.

“Harvey Weinstein is now a convicted rapist,” Italian actress and director Asia Argento celebrated on Instagram. Despite the shortcomings of this case, it is groundbreaking that the man who hurt so many women is finally penalized. While the verdict did not go as far as it should have, let us remember this case as a victory of female courage. Let us hope it will usher in a new era of accountability for sex offenders and justice for their victims.