I read with interest the “Easy targets” article (WomanNews, Sept. 15) on “acquaintance” rape and wanted to share two observations.
First, rape is rape. Preceding the word “rape” with the word “acquaintance” only allows people to categorize it as less than a “real” rape–the perpetrators included. That is wrong.
Second, I agree that alcohol puts women at a distinct disadvantage, and we ultimately are responsible for protecting ourselves. But could then someone explain to me why in the last 15 years, co-ed dorms and co-ed floors are becoming the norms on college campuses? Isn’t that letting the “fox into the hen house,” so to speak?
I have yet to see this issue addressed in any article on the subject of rape on college campuses. Are we adults afraid of being looked upon as uncool by our children by insisting on a return to single-sex housing?
I, for one, will be glad to be an unhip mother if it will safeguard my daughters and keep my sons from potentially compromising situations.
