Vice-President Biden was at the University of New Hampshire today to riff on Gertrude Stein and remind students and faculty that “rape is rape is rape.” The occasion? Justice Department pressure on colleges and universities to improve campus safety around the issue of sexual assault. As an NPR story noted this morning, 1 in 5 female undergraduates will be the victim of such an assault, and (surprise!) “often alcohol is involved.” Ready for another surprise? Female students who are assaulted after they have been drinking, or after they have attended functions where alcohol has been consumed, are frequently seen as less than credible witnesses on their own behalf.
NPR’s coverage of the issue included attention to several of UNH’s harm-reduction programs, including the Know Your Power social marketing campaign:
Know Your Power “uses a community of responsibility model to teach bystanders how to intervene safely and effectively in cases where sexual assault may be occurring or where there may be risk.” Its graphics may not be the suavist, but