These sort of stories are simply horrifying. Rape is never excusable and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. However I find myself firmly on the personal responsibility side of many of these “date rape” situations. Of course “no means no” and drinking does not excuse unwanted sex aka rape. Just like wearing a KKK costume and marching in Harlem at night does not excuse someone beating your arse I suppose. Avoiding these types of situation will however absolutely virtually eliminate your exposure to all but the most violent and unambiguous types of rape.
A few notes about the story….
“{On the beach, she and Celestin traded swigs from his bottle of liquor. Celestin’s flirtations had already made her nervous,”. Seriously lady... If you are “nervous” about the two guys you decided to go off with alone, perhaps consider not swigging shots from their bottle with them.
“In two of the cases, alleged perpetrators continued attending classes even after multiple accusations of sexual assault.” Colleges are NOT the police. Rape is a serious crime and it should be handled by the police. Accusations of rape are not rape and someone is innocent until proven guilty in this country. I would encourage the schools to make accommodations, such as allowing an alleged victim to change classes to avoid being in a class with his or her accused rapist. However to expect a college to remove a student over an unproven accusation is completely unfair, immoral and unethical.
“After the alleged rape, according to the Wenham police report and interviews with Posadas-Nava, the man pressured her into a relationship during which she says they had consensual sex but the man also continued to coerce her into unwanted sex, as well.” Honestly, are you kidding me? My advice would be to avoid having consensual relationships with a known rapist. I would think that is a “no brainer” but apparently not.
While these ladies may be victims of a horrible crime, one things really stands out in each of these stories…. The crimes are preempted by periods of utter stupidity. The solution perhaps is dual in nature. First put all rapist in jail and second, teach our youth not to be so damn immoral in their choices and stupid in their decision making.