As can be seen in that article, many who think the answer to violence in all its forms (as if it has not been with us since the beginning) is to wave a magic wand and make it all go away. "Criminals need to learn that crime in against the law!" Let's get real for one minute; in another institution that has had its share of sexual assault (the military), the message for addressing it has two necessary components and neither involves wishful thinking.
Part one is making it clear that such behavior will not be tolerated. taking accusations seriously and punishing evenly and to the extent possible. But, honestly, do any of us really think that any potential sexual predator does not know that sexual assault is wrong. Can anyone grow up in our society and not "know" that this is unacceptable behavior. The polly-anna idea of "let's just teach men that they can't do this" is so much wasted space. Every one knows murder is wrong, robbery is criminal and sexual assault is illegal. Still it happens, just like all those other crimes. This is not an education deficit, it is a moral deficit. They know - they don't care. Making a positive outcome - the end of crime - the responsibility of the perpetrator is foolish at best - a fairy tale. There are bad people who do bad things, not out of ignorance, but out of not caring.
Part two then is protecting yourself from those who do not care that it is wrong. This does not mean you are at fault - but it means that you have to take responsibility for your own safety in the face of those who mean to do you harm. It can be little consolation, I imagine, to be assaulted and then have someone to blame who should have known better. If I want to be as safe as I can from potential criminals when walking the street I need some way of defending myself and so should those who may fall prey to such assaults. It is wrong, it is unacceptable, it happens. This is not to say that any assault is the victim's fault, but their personal safety is an individual responsibility, not to be left to the inclinations of others. I do not know about you, but I do not which to condition my continued existence on the beneficence of those around me.
It is best to put this little pissing contest in the context of recent reports on the rate of sexual crimes on college campuses. You can either sit and wish in one hand for the day to come when everyone is willing to treat their fellow persons with respect or you can be prepared to take care of yourself - to demand it. I suspect that those who prefer to deny their part in insuring their own safety and wait for that day will continue to be at greater risk than those who see the evil in the world, which it were otherwise, but refuse to be victims while they wait for the miracle that will never come. It is so liberal to sit peacefully as you are assaulted and claim your assailant had no right to do so. There is evil in the world! Defend yourself!
This is just like the fairy tale of establishing gun-free zones; telling women that they should not worry about defending themselves but insist that men behave creates a field of defenseless victims who will have nothing but their misguided ideology and indignation to protect themselves. Predators hunt and assault weaker prey who have what they want and cannot defend themselves. Until all predators are gone from among us, each of us had better be ready to make them pay for their miscalculation.
So those of you who think insisting that your little black dress does not mean yes, remember that the predator already knows this - he already knows you love consent - and so do the vast majority of men. But your message is lost on that small violent minority who do not care what it means or what you want or love or what any of us want; they mean to take what they want if you cannot stop them. Learn to stop them.
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