In your latest "Denied Justice" article (Aug. 12) on the subject of rape, the hard facts of alcohol and sexual assault were made clear. I hope people take notice, learn and make the right choices.
There is a very strong correlation between "too much to drink" and sexual assault.
From the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: "Conservative estimates of sexual assault prevalence suggest that 25 percent of American women have experienced sexual assault, including rape. Approximately one-half of those cases involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, victim, or both. Alcohol contributes to sexual assault through multiple pathways, often exacerbating existing risk factors."
From the article "Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault: A Common Problem among College Students," written by Antonia Abbey with the Department of Community Medicine, Wayne State University: "Alcohol-related sexual assault is a common occurrence on college campuses. A college student who participated in one of our studies explained how she agreed to go back to her date's home after a party: 'We played quarter bounce (a drinking game). I got sick drunk; I was slumped over the toilet vomiting. He grabbed me and dragged me into his room and raped me. I had been a virgin and felt it was all my fault for going back to his house when no one else was home.'… A male college student who forced sex on a female friend wrote that, 'Alcohol loosened us up and the situation occurred by accident. I would never have crossed that line.' "
From a study by Everfi, an education technology firm, "The Relationship Between Alcohol and Sexual Assault on the College Campus," involving research done with over 200,000 college students: "Our investigation showed a strong relationship between alcohol consumption (especially problematic drinkers) and unhealthy sexual situations. As alcohol use became more problematic, the chances of a student reporting that they had been sexually assaulted increased as well."
As a former brick-layer for 20 years and now a pastor for 30-plus years I have seen the destructive impact of alcohol on so many lives, marriages, homes, children and workplaces. Too often alcohol is involved in fatal car accidents. A few years ago, in the Twin Ports area, a survey done among high school students found that many of them were drinking alcohol provided by parents, relatives or older friends — all for some innocent fun — but got "pulled in" to become an alcoholic.
I have friends who work in law enforcement who have said that if we could eliminate alcohol and drugs — well, it would make their jobs so much easier.
Too often, it is the guy who takes advantage of a woman who has had too much to drink. Whether she is 18 or 38, he should heed the advice offered in the 2017 song, "Drunk Girl," by country singer Chris Janson:
Take a drunk girl home
Let her sleep all alone
Leave her keys on the counter, your number by the phone
Pick up her life she threw on the floor
Leave the hall lights on, walk out and lock the door
That's how she knows the difference between a boy and a man
Take a drunk girl home
The Rev. Rolf Fure lives in Duluth.
