The hard fact is that, while it’s clear that sexual assault is never the fault of the victim, and the involvement of alcohol in no way excuses the perpetrators’ heinous crime, it’s a little less clear how to most helpfully discuss the correlation between rates of sexual assault and alcohol. Once you know the research — that studies have consistently found about half of all sexual assaults are committed by men who have been drinking, and half of all sexual assault victims report they were drinking — what do you do with it?
This Oct. 28 BDN editorial explores the complexities of talking about and, especially, preventing sexual assault: http://bangordailynews.com/2013/10/28/opinion/what-we-dont-know-about-rape/.
