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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Act Provocatively And You Provoke Dumb Decisions Sometimes, Women Lead Men Into Temptation.

Should women ever share responsibility for rape?

Rape is a brutal crime - a total violation of another person. Anyone who commits a rape should feel the full weight of the law.

But there are occasions when a victim contributes to her assault by the way she conducts herself, dresses or plays the dating game.

Last week, a young woman claimed she was raped by one of two North Idaho College students who invited her to go for a walk - after she had entertained several young men at a party by stripping off her shirt and pants. Later, she willingly entered her alleged attacker’s dorm room and was on his bed kissing him when things got violent.

In a statement to Coeur d’Alene police, she admitted she had consumed too much alcohol and “was wasted.” She also conceded her impromptu striptease had been “stupid.”

If the story she told Coeur d’Alene police is true, she made it known she didn’t want to have sex - and, therefore, was indeed raped. If her story is true, her alleged rapist is without excuse, even if he, too, was drunk. He should pay a penalty for his crime. She, meanwhile, should shoulder the responsibility for making dumb decisions that led her to harm’s threshold.

This case challenges the politically correct notion that a rape victim is always blameless and her assailant always totally at fault. Common sense tells us that’s simply not true. Sometimes, women lead men into temptation - but that doesn’t absolve a man from guilt if he forces himself on her after she says, “no.”

The party scenario that took place among NIC students occurs on and off college campuses daily. A firm “no” by a woman or, if she’s too drunk, by her friends, can prevent a rape. Most important, a woman should say no to drinking too much at places where hormones rage. She certainly should say no to slavering hyenas who encourage her to strip. Finally, she should say no to an invitation to go off alone with a man she doesn’t know well, away from the protection of friends and partygoers.

Radical feminists, of course, contend a woman has the right to change her mind about consensual sex and yell “rape,” even the morning after. They shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways.

If a woman demands the right to be a promiscuous fool, like so many men today, she shouldn’t expect society to embrace her as a victim when she gets burned.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: Frustrations cannot make a wrong right

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = EDITORIAL, COLUMN - From both sides CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board

For opposing view, see headline: Frustrations cannot make a wrong right

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = EDITORIAL, COLUMN - From both sides CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board