Good Men Don't Let Women Get Raped. So Why Aren't You Guys Doing Enough?

Are Men Doing Enough To Prevent Rape?
STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 10: Penn State students gather at Old Main, at the center of Penn State University's campus, to express solidarity with the alleged rape victims following a night of rioting in response to the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal November 10, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. 14,000 students took to the streets to express their feelings about the handling of the situation. Paterno was fired amid allegations that former former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was involved with child sex abuse. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 10: Penn State students gather at Old Main, at the center of Penn State University's campus, to express solidarity with the alleged rape victims following a night of rioting in response to the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal November 10, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. 14,000 students took to the streets to express their feelings about the handling of the situation. Paterno was fired amid allegations that former former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was involved with child sex abuse. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

What are we supposed to be doing?

A young man asked me this the other day, on the campus of Rutgers University in New Jersey, about the role of men in stopping rape.

I speak to a lot of young women at colleges across the United States this time of year, but I speak to a lot of young men, too. And the vast majority of college-age guys and twenty-something men I meet are engaged and smart about women’s issues – men, too, are horrified by sexual violence. Men don’t think rape is OK, or funny, or something to be taken lightly. Many men have witnessed (or experienced) domestic or sexual violence firsthand; these are issues that have touched – and hurt – their lives as well.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot