Rape Politics

This is an excellent read: The Campus Rape Myth

I have had a fair number of rape victims as students in self-defense classes. Some of these women still had physical scars from injuries that occurred during the assault. There was no question that law enforcement should be involved. Stretching poor judgement, risky behavior, and consent with regret into rape is a hyperbole. It hides real crimes, real pain, and real consequences.

Even assuming that we are talking about the actual crime of rape, from my read of the article all of the campus resources are provided after the fact. There are any number of councilors, hotlines, and therapy sessions ready to explain that it is not the victims fault. To quote a former student and rape survivor:

"I already knew it wasn't my fault. What none of the therapists could tell me was 'it won't happen again.' Learning how to fight back has given me some choice in the matter. I can tell myself that it won't happen again."

I think that there is a big difference between "blame" and "responsibility." I am not a fan of blaming the victims, but the victims must realize that they are responsible for their actions - not the actions of their assailant. If you set yourself up for having a negative outcome, it can't be a complete surprise when it comes to pass.

We have a legal system for handling crime. Having a school policy of non-judicial punishment is just plain wrong. Having an arbitration process for what should be a serious crime is doubly wrong. What would be the schools reaction if one of these semi-consensual rapes resulting in the woman killing her assailant? Rape is a deadly force threat and a lethal response could certainly be justified.