The RAINN advice seems to be wrong in another place – page 2 of the pdf:
By the time they reach college, most students have been exposed to 18 years of prevention messages, in one form or another. Thanks to repeated messages from parents, religious leaders, teachers, coaches, the media and, yes, the culture at large, the overwhelming majority of these young adults have learned right from wrong, and enter college knowing that rape falls squarely in the latter category.
Really? These students have heard, in those 18 years, nothing but “rape is wrong”? They’ve been exposed to no repeated messages that pull the other way?
Of course they have. They’ve been exposed to countless repeated messages to the effect that sex is a kind of battlefield, and that men who don’t win battles are losers. They’ve been exposed to repeated messages telling them that men are supposed to be pushy and aggressive and confident about sex. They’ve been exposed to repeated messages telling them that women secretly or not so secretly want to be “overcome” or nudged into it or seduced or made drunk and then fucked. They’ve been exposed to repeated messages telling them that men are supposed to “score” a lot and if they don’t they’re pathetic. They’ve been exposed to repeated messages telling them that women are kind of stupid and dishonest and manipulative. They’ve been exposed to all kinds of messages, and many of them are to the effect that women are more or less contemptible and men are supposed to get and keep the upper hand.
So no, the situation is not as simple and easy as the overwhelming majority of these young adults have learned right from wrong, and enter college knowing that rape falls squarely in the latter category. That would be nice, but it’s not true.
My wife taught (computer) classes at a University in the Midwest. She had a (female) student tell her that they were taught that most diseases, and even sperm sometimes, could ‘squeeze through the weave’ of a condom.
So…not so much educated, as lied to.
Urrrgg…point being that assuming anything is being taught with any kind of consistency, especially regarding sex, in schools in the US is, well, probably wrong.
So they’ve never been to Steubenville, then.
And, uh, what good does it do to tell kids rape is wrong if you forget to tell them what rape is?
THAT, A.Noyd. Also, they seem unaware of reported successful results from messages aimed at putting the responsibility on men: http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2013/01/08/rape-prevention-aimed-at-rapists-does-work/
How hard is it to understand “No means no”?
Three words.
@Blanche Quizno:
I think that’s RAINN’s position. Me, I answer the question:
That’s what should be true. Its how it should be.
If only it was.
If only.
It isn’t of course.
And that’s our social problem right there.
Also, they haven’t been told what rape IS. They’ll all tell you rape is wrong, maybe–but rape is something other than what they do. Lack of consent, or doubtful consent, isn’t rape: rape is dragging passers-by into the bushes. It doesn’t do me any good to teach me X is wrong without teaching me what X is. I’ll just conclude X is something other people do.
Wylann,
That’s what we were taught in church. I believed it until college too. Because, those good people at the church wouldn’t lie to me, right?
Blanche Quizno, #6:
Not hard, but it makes a category error; one that rapists use to pretend they’re not rapists. No means no, complaints mean no, if you really want me to means no, silence means no.
Only yes means yes though.