It’s not just in Belgium, there are countless stories online in the UK and the USA and I found it very frustrating when researching for this article. As although the stories are out there, the follow-up information on convictions is not so easy to find . Rape cases are notoriously hard to convict and, in the UK, the rate for " charge of rape" is at an all- time low of a depressing 6%. I was very much a nineties girl, where women were encouraged to drink pints and show that we could, ‘keep up with the men’. We believed we were being radical and defying the stereotype. Instead, we were drinking alarming amounts of alcohol and we were believing the lines fed to us by big alcohol and the media. I tell my daughter that we are much more of a feminist when we make our own choices and stay in contro l. As the great Holly Whitaker said in a recent guardian article: “Very smart people with assloads of money, power, and access benefit from … our believing that drinking is an act of empowerment for women, instead of what it is: a drug designed to keep us down, no matter how much we drink”. This article has been in my head for a while, and I hope that I have done it justice (I touched on the subject in my earlier article Party Girl) . It was not easy to write and I was very surprised at the lack of information out there as I wanted to be very careful not to victim blame. Often, the dangers of alcohol are detailed in terms of health which is critical information but I think it's important that we make sure young women have all the information about all the risks . They can then make their own informed decisions . For young people, who feel invincible - reading about alcohol-related health impacts is not something they want to think about now but the reality is that the dangers of alcohol could unfold for them tonight if intoxicated and in the company of the wrong person. It's time to educate our girls. I also want to acknowledge that men also are victims of attacks, however. I can only write about the female perspective as I am one. *Amy*- Not her real name #Ref1 Cameron, C. and Stritzky, W.G.K. 2003. Alcohol and Acquaintance Rape in Australia: testing the presupposition model of Attributions of Responsibility and Blame. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(5):983-1008; 983. Ref2 Office of national statistics (UK)
Alcohol is everywhere, our kids are being taught via social media and the TV that you can’t have fun without alcohol. Reality shows revolve around people being drunk. Influencers are judged on the alcohol they drink. It is still being pushed as a must, rather than an option. We don’t need to terrify our girls, but we do need to arm them with the facts on alcohol. In the summer there are always sensationalist stories of drunk girls on holiday abroad where they are so wasted that they flash their boobs or perform sex acts at parties arranged by the tour operators. These parties are always based around shots and drinking as much as possible. Of course, this results in behaviour that may be out of character. There have been cases when footage and photos from these parties, have ended up in the national press. The girls are shamed and vilified for their behaviour.
Would the girls have behaved in this way sober? I very much doubt it.
In the US there has been controversy over the “Girls gone wild’ films by Joe Francis. These films, revolved around co-ed women, who were almost always intoxicated, baring their breasts (or worse) in exchange for merchandise. The movies have resulted in court cases against Joe Francis revolving around consent and age. The photos and films are out there forever, one drunken decision will impact these girls for the rest of their lives and their intoxication has been exploited for another’s gain. Yet the girls carry the shame and guilt. Google, ‘footballers and drunk girl' and y ou will find article after article. Mostly the headlines state that the girls in question were so drunk that there is no way that they could have consented to sexual activity. There was the horrific case of the Belgium football club Espoir Minerois. Players filmed themselves raping a drunk girl and then shared the images online. The girl’s mother states that the girl was completely intoxicated and had no way of consenting to any of the assaults which took place against her.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker