George Will Argues Rape Confers Coveted Status

Credit: David Shankbone on Flickr under Creative Commons

NEW YORK (WOMENSENEWS)- Washington Post Columnist George Will believes that college rape victims are more likely to come forward now that rape is a “coveted status that confers privileges,” Think Progress reported June 9.

In a column published by the newspaper on June 7, Will argues that the recent upsurge in rape allegations are overblown and based on inaccurate statistics. This will only put men at risk of being charged with rape, according to Will.

Yet, the number of reported rapes has increased by nearly 50 percent between 2008 and 2012, Think Progress reported May 2. A report that was conducted in 2007 found that only 12 percent of rapes were reported.

The increase in reported rapes is largely a result of more college students feeling comfortable enough to come forward. Despite the increase, there is still a large amount of people who are uncomfortable with reporting sexual assaults out of fear of being ostracized and threatened, the online publication reported.

“Clearly George Will has never tried to speak publically about experiencing sexual assault. People who do that receive death threats and rape threats, and get stalked and followed and harassed,” said Harpo Jaeger, a college student at Brown University told Think Progress.

Will goes on to criticize universities that have implemented trigger warnings stating that, “Academia is learning that its attempts to create victim-free campuses–by making everyone hypersensitive, even delusional, about victimizations–brings increasing supervision by the regulatory state that progressivism celebrates.”

Another issue with the recent uproar about sexual assault, according to Will, is its “capacious” definition that includes forcible sexual penetration and nonconsensual touching, Salon reported June 9.

Twitter subscribers have expressed their anger over Will's column via the hashtags #firegeorgewill #survivorprivilege and #rapeprivilege.

Here are some of the most recent tweets:

For 10 years I was too ashamed to tell my parents. @georgewillf don't you DARE tell me I benefit from #survivorprivilege. #firegeorgewill

— Juliana M-T (@JulianaMorganT) June 9, 2014

Having your family turn their back on you for “making a big deal out of something that ‘wasn't really assault'” #survivorprivilege

— Terri (@terribenn8) June 9, 2014

#rapeprivilege is living in a culture we're you're mocked as having a “coveted status” rather than believed. #firegeorgewill

— mazzie (?°?°??? ??? (@mazzie) June 9, 2014