Editor’s note: In a Jan. 13 article about binge drinking, The Western Front mentioned assaults and cited statistics from a 2005 study by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol. We in no way intended to blame victims of sexual assault or imply that the victims “asked for it.” We apologize for any lack of context that may have implied otherwise.
We are writing to ask that The Western Front publicly apologize for and retract statements made in the Jan. 13 issue. Intolerable statements that operate at multiple levels to perpetuate rape culture were presented as journalistic fact in the article written by Mike Gore entitled “Majority of binge drinkers ages 18 to 34.”
On page 7, header text above the article reads “Majority of sexual assaults attributed to alcohol.” Under one article subheading, “Dangers of college drinking,” Gore cites a statistic informing readers that among female students who were victims of sexual assault, “75 percent of those victims were under the influence of alcohol when the assault occurred.”
The article thus explicitly presents sexual violence as a “dangerous” outcome of “risky” behaviors, and suggests that such behaviors are to be avoided by young women who wish to not be raped. These statements are cultural microaggressions, are unacceptable and reinforce victim-blaming rhetoric around topics of sex/gender-based violence.
Sexual assault is not attributed to alcohol, nor is it attributable to alcohol, or any other often-referenced trigger such as drugs or short skirts. Assault is attributable to assailants. Rape is attributable to rapists. The Western Front’s statements are attributable to ignorance.
The discourse of rape culture tells us the victim “asked for it,” that because the presence of alcohol or flirtatious behavior blurs the line of consent, rapists get to be exonerated. By asserting that women — trans women, cis women, queer women, straight women, two-spirited women, bi women, asexual women, women of color, white women, women with a disability, women who are temporarily able-bodied — who imbibe alcohol are engaging in risky behavior that may very well result in a brutal act of violence being perpetrated upon their strong, beautiful bodies, The Western Front doubly victimizes us, the survivors of sexual violence.
You are tasking us with the burden of rape prevention. And we are calling bullshit.
The article makes no mention of the percentage of rapists under the influence of alcohol at the time the rape occurred (which is 30 percent, by the way, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). So next time The Western Front writes an article that discusses the relationship between alcohol and sex/gender-based violence in our culture, perhaps consider this, because we went ahead and wrote the article for you.
“You can’t prevent rape by not drinking. You can only prevent rape by not raping.”
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