In light of international women's day, today at my high school we received a presentation about sexual assault by a feminist advocate from a local rape crisis centre. It was optional to attend but I thought I would go just to see what it was all about, although the ideas presented were nothing I hadn't heard before from the standard feminist narrative.

She talked about the biases women face in the workplace, gave some (likely exaggerated) statistics about the rate of sexual assault for women (she said two thirds of women experience "sexual violence" in their lifetimes. I'm skeptical that it's that high), and firmly claimed that we are living in a "rape culture" in North America (I don't think I have to explain why this is ridiculous – if we were living in a rape culture, rape wouldn't be illegal).

One of the things she touched on was drugs and alcohol and their relation to sexual assault. She said most rapes happen when one or both parties is intoxicated, but she implied that it is never the woman's fault for getting assaulted if she is drunk or high. It sounded to me like she was promoting heavy drinking and partying, and said that telling girls to "be careful of what you do, what you wear, who you're with, etc" is somehow harmful and counterproductive to preventing rape. Essentially, she meant that men are always to blame for having sexual urges and predatory responses, and that women should be able to wear, say, and do what they want without consequences or risks.

I wonder what the RP community thinks about this. Obviously sexual assault is a horrific thing, and no one "deserves" it. However, do you think that women should exercise caution around men, particularly when intoxicated? Do you think women should be able to dress as provocatively as they want, or should they cover up a little? There will always be some psycho men out there who will assault to matter what, so is it reasonable to educate women on being more cautious and reserved to prevent sexual assault?