Date rape is not an old issue around college campuses, but in the recent hoopla about cases of sexual assault by an unknown and uncaptured suspect, the specter of date rape has receeded back into the woodwork. It's easier, perhaps psychologically, to fear a shadow, a monster hiding in wait ready to pounce than a guy you go to a party with. But I reassert the fact that even with such a recent outbreak of rapes and attempted rapes in the city, those attacks represent only an estimated 20 percent of the danger women face. Think about it. Obviously, educating women to the casual dangers they face, as well as the more sensational risk of attack by strangers, remain vital.
Women are largely the focus of sexual assault education, but they are only half of the problem.
Men at the University listen to stories about how often women are victims . It diminishes the status of women in their minds and separates men from the act of victimization. Men need to be confronted with their role in the entire scheme. This is not to say we should tell every man that he is a potential assailant. This, of course, requires work.