Stanford University has removed part of a “Female Bodies and Alcohol” webpage that critics said promoted “victim-blaming” and rape culture on a campus that has faced intense scrutiny surrounding sexual assault.  The elite northern California college – which received widespread attention after former athlete Brock Turner sexually assaulted an unconscious woman – adopted a controversial new policy this week banning liquor from campus parties.  Many said the rule change was a tone-deaf and dangerous response to sexual assault, and now students are further criticizing the university for publishing an educational page that they say perpetuates the idea that women should shoulder some of the blame when they are assaulted while intoxicated.  The “Female Bodies and Alcohol” page, a sub-section of the university’s “Alcohol and Drug Info” site, explains why a “woman will get drunk faster than a man consuming the same amount of alcohol”.  “With that greater impairment comes an increased risk for harm, including hangovers, nausea and vomiting, memory loss and blackouts, and other regretted behavior,” the site says.  The page, which spread on social media this week, previously had a section titled “Alcohol affects both sexual intent and aggression”, according to an archived version. That item, which has since been deleted, said that “women who are seen drinking alcohol are perceived to be more sexually available than they may actually be”. It cited research that found that “the odds of experiencing sexual aggression were nine times higher on days of heavy drinking compared to days when the women did not drink”.  By focusing heavily on women’s behavior and how men perceive them, the post implies that women should adjust their actions to avoid rape, instead of teaching men about consent and the behaviors that constitute assault, students said.  “It’s very problematic and very dangerous to have that type of material on your website,” said Matthew Baiza, a 20-year-old junior and cofounder of the Stanford Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP). “We have to hold perpetrators accountable. Alcohol doesn’t make someone rape someone. Someone chooses to rape someone.”  The removed section further encouraged people not to make a “choice” that could hurt them later, saying: “Intervene when you are worried that an intoxicated individual may be making a choice that they could regret in the morning – or worse, making a choice that ends up hurting themselves or someone else.”  The notion that alcohol is the root cause of sexual violence resembles the claims of Turner, who has refused to acknowledge that he committed sexual assault when he attacked an unconscious woman by a dumpster outside a fraternity party in 2015.  Instead, Turner has blamed Stanford’s “party culture”, with an argument that the victim said was particularly painful in her viral statement on rape culture and the trauma of her trial.  Some have further argued that if Stanford is going to heavily focus on women on its alcohol page, it should at least have a section directed at male students.  “We need to work on educating men on campus about why sexual assault is wrong,” said Baiza, adding that the university could warn men against “using alcohol as a weapon” to assault women.  Politicians and other public figures have sparked backlashes for suggesting ways women can avoid rape.  Ohio governor John Kasich, for example, was scorned in April when he told a college student on the presidential campaign trail that women concerned about rape should not go to parties “where there’s a lot of alcohol”.  Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin claimed that the “Female Bodies” page had not been altered, even though an archived version from June makes clear that the university has recently removed the most controversial section on sexual assault.  Lapin said the educational page comes from Cornell University and is not related to Stanford’s new alcohol policy.  “We received no concerns about this information until it was criticized on social media by activists this week, though we are evaluating the language and may consider posting revised information in the near future,” she said in an email.  Lapin also refuted earlier allegations that the new alcohol rule was a public relations effort to respond to the Turner case. The ban on liquor at parties was solely designed to “address binge drinking”, she said.  Opponents, however, have argued that the rule will have the opposite effect by encouraging students to binge drink before and after parties in private dorm rooms, where risks of sexual assault are greater.
University in limelight over Brock Turner sexual assault case pulls part of a webpage amid criticism that it promoted rape culture