National Review Online Claims Women Are Just “Being Taught To Believe They Were Raped”

After a week of victim-blaming and dismissing campus sexual assault statistics, the National Review Online has doubled down on dismissing sexual violence on college campuses.

In a May 19 piece, National Review Online contributor A.J. Delgado claimed that women are being “brainwash[ed] into believing they were raped.” Delgado cited a personal anecdote to make her point, arguing that, for a friend, “convincing herself she had been raped was a way of saving her dignity and avoiding the hurtful reality” of  “regrettable sex.” Delgado concluded by stating that “for every legitimate, actual rape claim there may be another that was not: a girl who cried rape.”

From National Review Online (emphasis added):

Prominent scholars and activists now even define rape as including any sexual activity in which the woman is not sober, claiming that consent is never truly given if one has had a few drinks.

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.

[...]

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.

[...]

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and Amy ultimately decided against filing a report. (In case you're wondering, a week later she was still hunting down Steve -- the “rape” a far cry from her mind.) But how many Amys go through with it? And how many Steves have their reputations ruined, perhaps even their lives, with a false accusation? While it's easy to imagine Steve as a smirking, smug jerk, he was actually a hard-working guy from a poor family, at the university on a scholarship. Amy's accusation would have easily ruined his life.

For good reason, it is hard to forget Amy -- a reminder that, to the extent some in our society remain skeptical of rape claims, women themselves bear a share of the blame. After all, for every legitimate, actual rape claimm there may be another that was not: a girl who cried rape.

Previously:

NRO's Week Of Denialist, Victim-Blaming Sexual Assault Coverage

Fox News Ignores New Report On College Sexual Assault

Conservative Media Jump On Sexual Assault Truther Bandwagon, Cry Foul On White House Report

WSJ Editor: Intoxicated Sexual Assault Victims Are Just As Guilty As Their Attackers