Is an increase in binge drinking amongst women contributing to Britain’s “sexual assault problem”? Arguments this week in the press have honed in on the alcohol intake of students, and how rampant assault has become now that young women are beginning to catch up with their male peers in their booze consumption.
Yes, drinking can be a dangerous thing and its relationship with sex is not a good one. But why are we still choosing to spotlight women’s choices in this kind of discussion rather than considering the bigger factors at hand? I’m reminded of the “but what was she wearing?” attitude that I was naively under the impression had been left in the past.
Speaking of students, my own such days are not that long behind me, so I know the insidious culture that dominates that world. Half your night out is spent pulling your friend away from someone that gave her a funny look. Or you make sure you're walking each other to the bathroom and then to your front doors to avoid any moment alone. It is also true that binge drinking amongst British women has soared to new heights. Just two weeks ago, a study concluded that we were the worst female binge drinkers in the world (defining binge drinking as having at least six alcoholic drinks in a single session).
Women can't even trust those who are supposed to protect them
The report found that 26 percent of women of all ages in Britain were drinking excessively at least once a month. Yet that figure pales in comparison to the same statistic for men: a remarkable 45 percent drink excessively every month.
If there's a drinking problem, it's more of a male issue than a female one. But there is one area where women are top of the statistics charts — and it's a grim one.
According to the Office for National Statistics, one in four women in England and Wales have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult; that’s more than 6 million women in total. And does a night out always come into play? Among these women, one out of two rape cases are perpetrated by their partner or ex-partner.
Yet women can’t trust those who are supposed to protect them. In March, the Met police confirmed that 800 officers were being investigated, facing claims of sexual and domestic abuse and other potential misconduct. Sickening stories of officers like Wayne Couzens, David Carrick, and Adam Provan make headline news more often than we can take.
What kind of standard does this set for men for how they can treat women – or what they can get away with? And what standard does this set for women for what behaviour they must tolerate?
Women are already well aware of the threat against them. They stay in groups, they hold their keys between their fingers, they cross the street. Let’s hope one day this conversation will stop being directed at their choices, when the real threats are in plain sight.
