National Review Writer: Liberals ‘Brainwash’ Women To Cry ‘Rape’

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Upon the recent efforts by the federal government and universities to address college sexual assault rates, a National Review Online contributor wrote on Monday that the uptick in sexual assault reports is actually just women “crying rape.”

“First, the pendulum shift began with feminists pushing the notion that women claiming they were raped should always be believed and never questioned,” NRO contributor A.J. Delgado wrote. “Then followed the loosened standards for arrests in rape accusations.”

Delgado essentially blames “liberals” for loosening the definition of sexual assault to include “any sexual activity in which the woman is not sober.”

“Admittedly, I am no scientist, but I am fairly certain that a statistically significant amount of sex — including very enjoyable sex — happens under the influence of alcohol. But by the liberal definition of my generation, I have been raped. Multiple times,” she wrote.

She goes on to explain that such a definition has blurred the line between “sexual assault” and “rape.”

“Keep in mind: Men can now be shamed with the ‘sexual assault’ offender label for minor acts. If a friend jokingly comes up behind a girl and slaps her butt, that is, by today’s definitions, a sexual assault,” Delgado notes.

There are two possible explanations for the sudden focus on sexual assault on college campuses, according to Delgado.

“Are college administrators, now largely in charge of presiding over rape allegations, quick to pronounce a situation as a rape, erring on the side of caution and of extreme feminism?” she asked.

The second explanation would be to blame it on the victims.

“Are women themselves being taught to believe they were raped (the aforementioned ‘only sober consent is true consent!’ notion)? Yes. And that, ironically enough, makes these women victims of liberal culture, too,” Delgado wrote.

She backs up her claims with an anecdote from her time in school. Delgado describes a situation in which a friend had sex with a man she had been chasing for a while. And when he didn’t call her back, she decided to accuse him of rape since she was drunk and unsure of what happened. Delgado wrote that “this was a case not of rape but of ‘regrettable sex.'”

“After all, for every legitimate, actual rape claim there may be another that was not: a girl who cried rape,” she concludes after the story.

Delgado argued that the “impact on the lives of the accused” needs to be considered, since a mere accusation or arrest can ruin someone’s life.

“If rape is a hideous, heinous crime — and it is — is it not similarly horrific to brand someone guilty of such without slow and somber consideration of circumstances and evidence?” she asked. “Is it not also horrible when we brainwash women into believing they were raped?”

[H/t Media Matters]

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