Feeding the Beast-2

The recent "guilty" verdict handed two teenagers in the small Ohio town of Steubenville in the US underscores the seriousness any progressive society pays to issues like sexual assault. These students were found guilty of raping a fellow high school student who was under the influence of alcohol and possibly other drugs. It was not a tenable defense that alcohol and/or drugs played some role here. Someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs can't possibly give any valid consent for sex. It is therefore the responsibility of any partners or friends or any other concerned persons to protect such individuals, and not take advantage of their vulnerable state. We need to dismantle that myth that "she asks for it". How did "she ask for it"? Under what circumstance did "she ask for it"? An ongoing case in Southwest Nigeria of an alleged rape of a female youth corp member (fresh graduate undergoing a one year national service in a different geographical zone of the country) by an influential local chief. One of the debates in the media was people asking what the girl went to do in the chief's palace if she was not interested in some sexual relationship. Unfortunately, this is usually the trend of discussions in an environment where abuse of power and position is the norm. She has been ridiculed and derided for her courage to report the incident to the authorities, and the tardy justice system completes the onslaught by inadvertently passing the message that keeping silent and living with the horror of rape may be a better deal than seeking for justice. This feeds the beast.