MikeB4: So a woman does not have the right to drink unmolested? does that apply to wearing a mini skirt, going for a walk in the evening, wearing a bikini on the beach? Any woman or man who thinks the attitudes being discussed here are not remotely affecting them are wrong it most certainly does.

Most of us teach our kids to respect other people's property.  I should have the right to leave my keys in the ignition when going to pay for my gas.  I should have the right to leave the doors of my house open on a hot day if I duck out for half an hour.  However, if I do either of those things,and there is a negative consequence, the Police, my insurance company, and my friends and family, would be less sympathetic than if I had taken reasonable steps to protect myself from a loss.

Most of us teach our kids to respect other people.  My female relatives should have the right to wear what they like when they go out.    My female relatives should be able to have more than a couple of drinks when they go out.  However if they do those things, and there is a negative consequence, is it reasonable for the community to be less sympathetic?  Certainly any sort of sexual violation will have a significantly larger impact on the victim than a stolen car or a burgled house.

The harsh reality is that sexual offending is very unlikely to be 100% eliminated from our society.  This of course does not mean we should not try through both proactive education and reactive punishment.  I'll be teaching my girls ways to lessen their chances of being the victim of this sort of offending.  This will include skirts that are just a little bit longer, drinking lightly unless they are in their own home, jogging with a friend, and looking out for their mates who are taking unwise risks.

In my ideal world, there would no be victims of sexual offending.  In the word I actually live in, barring some major societal change, there will always be a victim.  One of my jobs is to try and make sure that this victim is not a member of my family.