Emily Yoffe at Slate.com has a well reasoned article about the connection between alcohol consumption by young people and the incidence of rape. Yoffe states, in her opening paragraph, that:
A common denominator in these [rape] cases is alcohol, often copious amounts, enough to render the young woman incapacitated. But a misplaced fear of blaming the victim has made it somehow unacceptable to warn inexperienced young women that when they get wasted, they are putting themselves in potential peril.
Alas, the combox was soon filled with many people displaying this misplaced fear. They need to ask themselves: When you tell your teenager that they should lock their car, are you really blaming them for the activities of burglars? Of course not. I believe young women have the right to drink as much as they want. But, it is common sense to warn them that doing so will diminish their ability to stand up to the evil intentions of others. This may be politically incorrect, but it is not blaming the victim.
