Spring Break
Rape Victims Are Never Responsible For Their Assault
Laura Alix
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Commentary
Well, I'm sorry, but this study should not change a thing, or at least it shouldn't change much. All we have learned is that so-called "date-rape" drugs are actually not used in endemic proportions, as we might sometimes be led to believe. This study says absolutely nothing to undermine the matter of consent. A rape victim who is too drunk to give consent is no more to blame than a rape victim who is too drugged to give consent. Both have been taken advantage of in a situation where they were not in a sober state of mind. The only matter is how they came to that state of mind, yet a woman who drinks herself into oblivion is still not up for grabs.
I want to take this opportunity to address what appears to be something of a paradox that I am sure we've all heard at least once here. When we talk about rape, we always reiterate that rape is never the victim's fault. Then we turn around and advise young women to watch how much they drink at parties because they could be victimized while intoxicated. This almost seems to implicate the drunk victim as being partly responsible for what happened to her. Certainly, everybody ought to watch how much they drink. Drinking in excess puts you in a vulnerable position, and it can make you do stupid things that you wouldn't even consider in a sober state of mind.
Binge-drinking can particularly be a problem for freshmen women, who have seldom been drunk before they experienced their newfound freedom at college. Most college freshmen, men and women alike, don't know their limits when it comes to alcohol. Further, popular drinking games, like beer pong and "asshole," can cause new drinkers to lose track of how much they've had. Additionally, since many drinking games only make use of beer, young men and women may have even more of a tendency to binge-drink, thinking, "It's only Bud Light. It's not like I'm downing tequila." All of these factors can help college kids to wind up drinking way in excess of what they can handle, or what they intend, to drink.
I want to take this opportunity to address what appears to be something of a paradox that I am sure we've all heard at least once here. When we talk about rape, we always reiterate that rape is never the victim's fault. Then we turn around and advise young women to watch how much they drink at parties because they could be victimized while intoxicated. This almost seems to implicate the drunk victim as being partly responsible for what happened to her. Certainly, everybody ought to watch how much they drink. Drinking in excess puts you in a vulnerable position, and it can make you do stupid things that you wouldn't even consider in a sober state of mind.
Binge-drinking can particularly be a problem for freshmen women, who have seldom been drunk before they experienced their newfound freedom at college. Most college freshmen, men and women alike, don't know their limits when it comes to alcohol. Further, popular drinking games, like beer pong and "asshole," can cause new drinkers to lose track of how much they've had. Additionally, since many drinking games only make use of beer, young men and women may have even more of a tendency to binge-drink, thinking, "It's only Bud Light. It's not like I'm downing tequila." All of these factors can help college kids to wind up drinking way in excess of what they can handle, or what they intend, to drink.
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Blake
posted 2/28/07 @ 7:11 PM EST
ketamine is not a date-rape drug... it does not lower inhibitions and doesn't cause retrograde amnesia
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