For far too long there has been a belief among some men that if a woman is drunk, then she may as well be giving him consent to have sex with her. This is not just a problem on Auburn’s campus, but throughout the country.
Female college students are just like male college students when it comes to wanting to have a good time. Women should not have to worry about being taken advantage of whenever they are drinking and having fun.
I truly believe the vast majority of men attending Auburn would never take advantage of a drunk woman. However, every semester there is at least one incident of rape or sexual assault that gets reported on campus — and who knows how many go unreported.
I personally know a woman who has experienced being raped at a party by a guy she trusted. She never gave consent in any way, and she barely even remembers it happening. I am sure there are many women who have experienced the same thing in college.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in five women in the United States will experience rape at some point in their lives, and in nearly half of rape cases, the victim knows the rapist.
These statistics are extremely alarming. It is sad that in 2019 women are still faced with a severe lack of respect by some men.
Often times, you hear of women being raped while they were intoxicated, and the common response is “well hopefully she learned a lesson from this.” This type of comment completely misses the point and makes it seem like it is the woman’s fault for being raped.
It is time for all men to fully understand the meaning of consent, which is definitely not a woman being unconscious or inebriated. Unless a woman fully agrees to wanting to have sex, she has not given permission for any kind of sexual activity.
It is important for men on campus to speak out against rape and sexual assault. After all, we are the Auburn Family, and with that comes the responsibility of supporting your fellow family members.
Maggie Smith is a junior in agricultural communications.
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