Pegging the Crime
The continued news and awareness of the alleged rape by members of a fraternity at San Diego State University is encouraging and appropriate. In the past, acquaintance rape has been ignored, denied and even found trivial. In fact, over half of all rapes in the United States are acquaintance rapes, and while they are very hard to prosecute, they are as emotionally devastating as stranger rape.
Because the administration at SDSU has chosen to take this alleged rape seriously, and because the media has chosen to cover it, we are hopeful that more women will see acquaintance rape as the crime it is and report and pursue it legally. Only when women take this power will rape become a thing of the past.
AVA TORRE-BUENO
San Diego
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
