Repeat Offenders Account for 9 out of 10 Rapes on College Campuses

NPR has a piece out called Myths That Make it Hard to Stop Campus Rape. It is well worth a read, even if it has some serious issues that I would like to take to task, as well as some good truths.

The main point is one that I think college campuses and (to pound in my main blog topic) in part the military as well, forget, is that a slap on the wrist is not enough to take care of the problem of a rapist. The mistake that people in charge of doling out punishments seem to assume is that this is a one time childish indiscretion. We have been told that most of the time the reason that college rapists aren't being expelled is because it was a case of miscommunication. Well, umm ... no. It is a pretty basic concept -- anything other than a "Hell yes!" should be read as a "No!"

My creep factor is way up as Liask describes his observations, replicated by the McWhorter's Navy Study, with the male population of college campuses. Being a frequenter of the feminist blogosphere I was not at all surprised by his findings "that students who commit rape on a college campus are pretty much like those rapists in prison. In both groups, many are serial rapists. On college campuses, repeat predators account for 9 out of every 10 rapes."

As Jill Fillipovic at Feministe points out, helping me highlight my irritation, the thing about the NPR article is the juxtaposition of the findings. Stetson University law professor David Lake almost paints this picture that heavy drinking and a "hook up culture" allows women to become rape victims. I get incredibly irritated at this victim blaming attitude when clearly, what is really on display here is how rapists exploit alcohol to target vulnerable women. Alcohol does not cause women to get raped. The presence of a rapist causes rape. Second chances are great and all, Professor Lake, but when what we are seeing is a trend in repeat offenders, I think maybe we should think of treating sexually based offenses a little more like the crimes they really are, especially when the perpetrators brag about doing it on purpose.

At least Liask is pounding one thing home: These men are predators.

Colleges have a history of making rape prevention all about educating women on how to avoid getting raped instead of focusing on how to stop rapists for either raping in the first place or allowing them to remain near their victims after a crime has been committed. Also, if rape is more likely to be perpetrated by someone you know, then why are we still pushing prevention against the man in the bushes? Recognizing that some (perhaps not all) of college (and military) rapists are not simply misunderstanding in a single situation is probably a better step towards rape prevention than badgering women about the behavior of the week.

Photo credit: lightwerk