The sadly growing trend in America today is rape. We hear about rape on the news, in classrooms, and through school rumors almost every day. Fortunately, in recent years, cases of violent rapes (those committed by unidentified men who forcibly attack women and then proceed to rape them) are slowly decreasing. Unfortunately, “date rapes,” which were virtually unheard of a generation ago, have now become commonplace. Unlike violent rape, date rape is committed by someone known to the victim. In these types of situations, the rapist can sometimes also be the victim's best friend. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A “rape” can leave much deeper emotional scars than those left by a violent rape because the crime is committed by someone that the victim has an attachment to. For this reason, many times the victim denies and refuses to accept the fact of having been raped. But the question everyone is asking is: Who do we blame, or whose fault was it in the first place? I disagree with Camille Paglia's point that rape is usually the girl's fault and I can't really say I agree with Susan Jacoby's point that rape is caused by miscommunication between the two sexes. Rape is caused by society's lack of awareness and prevention of this rapidly growing trend. Rape is an epidemic that is slowly plaguing our entire nation, and unless drastic action is taken immediately, this epidemic may never be cured. The bottom line is that rape is rape no matter what word you put in front of it. Camille Paglia believes that it is almost always the girl's fault if she is raped, due to her lack of street smarts. Paglia's argument shows a kind of naivety towards the surrounding world and its dangers. He states that rape is an outrage that cannot be tolerated in civilized society. Yet feminism, which has waged a crusade for rape to be taken more seriously, has endangered young women by hiding the truth about sex from them. (Paglia, 558) With this statement he is saying that in today's society, young women are not taught the truth about sex, which, in turn, makes them more vulnerable to rape. This narrow-minded way of thinking is why many "rape" victims often go through a denial phase where they feel that someone they know couldn't have raped them. Other victims blame themselves for the rape. Many times, victims feel as if they, somehow, through their actions, caused sexual intercourse, and because of this miscommunication, it was their fault. For these two reasons, many times a woman doesn't even realize she has been raped. Paglia also believes that women today don't know what they want and, in turn, send mixed signals creating confusion with young men. Young men do not know or understand that the young woman's flirting with them does not automatically mean that they (the girl) want to have sex with him, or his clan of men for that matter. He says it's the girl's fault in the first place for sending those mixed signals. Paglia states: A woman on her way to a frat party is entering Testosterone Flats, full of prickly cacti and flaming guns. If she were to leave, she would have to be armed with resolute resistance. She should arrive with her friends and leave with them. (Paglia, 559) Alone, she basically asks to be raped, because thisit's what young males think is why she came alone. If every woman started thinking this way, then she would need a personal companion wherever she goes. There would be no such thing as a woman's freedom to roam freely alone wherever she wants or desires. Rape has also become commonplace at universities across America. Many universities refuse to accept this problem and act on it because it could tarnish their reputation. It is precisely this denial that causes the problem of "rape" to grow. Because many students know that they will not be punished for their actions, they continue to find victims and "rape" them. Paglia then goes on to explain that college men are at their hormonal peak. They have just left their mothers and are looking for their male identity. In groups they are dangerous. A girl who gets drunk at a frat party is an idiot. Feminists call this blaming the victim. I (Paglia) call it common sense. (Paglia, 559) Again, this addresses the issue that women should not be wandering freely alone or they are asking to be raped. Following Paglia's philosophy, the rape epidemic will never end. The only way to solve this growing problem is for universities to start accepting the fact that “date rape” is on the rise and introduce programs to solve this disease. Unlike most universities, local, state and federal governments are beginning to accept the fact that rape is no longer a rarity. Defendants accused of rape in situations where they had met a woman before having intercourse with them are now found guilty whereas in previous years they would not have been punished. Ellen Goodman provides an excellent example of the changing mindset towards rape in her essay "When a Woman Says No" in which she describes a case in which a woman was raped by four men. From the trial testimony it emerged that the woman had previously had sexual relations with three of those four men. However, the jury still found the four men guilty of rape. They believed that “Sexual consent between a man and a woman on one occasion does not mean that the man has access to her whenever the fancy strikes him.” (Goodman, 99) Although these types of trials do not always end with the same verdict, a few years ago women would not even have filed charges. The fact that cases like this are even brought to court shows how important the issue of “rape” has become. Personally, I'm tired of men, in general, automatically assuming that any woman, for whatever reason, wants to do it. have sex with them or all of them, for that matter. In my opinion rape shouldn't even exist! No one should have sex with someone just because they assume the other partner wants sex. Why do they have sex before they get married, anyway? But whatever the reason, young women should be smart when it comes to young males and their raging hormones. All it takes is a little common sense and they won't be raped for any reason. As long as young women go to fraternity parties in groups and hang out together, there shouldn't be any problems. And a young woman, no matter what, should never get dead drunk at a frat party! This is just common sense. Paglia has a great thought when he says: The only solution to dating rape is women's self-awareness and self-control. A woman's main line of defense against rape is herself. When a real rape happens, she should report it to the police. Complaining to university committees that the courts take too long is ridiculous. The.