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October 18, 2005
Letter to the Editor: Women’s Resource Center calls for more research
As the Vice President of the Women’s Resource Center and a Ramsey County Sexual Offense Services (SOS) Volunteer I would like to express my disgust with Nick Bell for writing a poorly researched response to the most recent “Under the Covers” column that dealt with the serious issue of sexual assault.
The article was a response to a student who had been under the influence of alcohol at a party and was taken advantage of. The person however was unsure if they should “take responsibility for” their “own morning-after guiltiness?” Nick Bell responded in the first paragraph, “An intoxicated person is generally unable to give consent.” No, an intoxicated person is never able to give consent as they are considered vulnerable in the eyes of the law. Yes, later in the column Mr. Bell says it is illegal; contradicting himself and not helping a person who may read his article and who has questions regarding consent and intoxication. Please, if you plan on publishing articles about serious issues, such as rape, you would be wise to research the issue before advice is given. Bell then wrote: “And non-consensual sexual conduct is rape. This is further complicated by your intoxication.” The only thing that is further complicated is that there was a person at this party who felt it was their right to take advantage of a vulnerable person. The assault was not complicated by the victim drinking!
Never in the column are the responsibilities of the perpetrator addressed. Bell spent the entire article explaining how it is something that the victim has to deal with and how they could have avoided their assault. Again, if proper research on this issue had been conducted, constructive advice would have been given. For example, if a victim goes to the police to report the crime that was committed against them there is no guarantee that a victim will be referred “to someone...who specialized in criminal sexual conduct.”
The police are there to write a report and conduct an investigation not to “offer services that will help you survive.” S.O.S. offers those services.
The pressure placed on the victim throughout the column was disheartening to read and reinforces the fact that we live in a rape culture. Perhaps it would benefit Mr. Bell to become an S.O.S. volunteer or to talk to a sexual assault advocate. Maybe that would stop him from writing such victim-blaming statements.
Laurel M. Otis, CLA ‘07
Posted by msveum at October 18, 2005 11:19 AM
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