When it comes to sexual assault, many students feel a lack of support as they try to fight rampant rape culture on college campuses. This was addressed during a town hall meeting with Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, according to CNN. A female student from St. Lawrence University asked the Ohio governor what his plans were to make her “feel safer and more secure regarding sexual violence, harassment and rape.”
Kasich answered by mentioning Ohio’s efforts in supporting sexual assault victims, including testing rape kits and providing access to confidential reporting. He also expressed fear for his own teenagers, “I have two 16-year-old daughters and I don’t even like to think about it,” Kasich said. He then relayed some controversial words to the student who originally asked the question: “Well I would give you, I’d also give you one bit of advice. Don’t go to parties where there’s a lot of alcohol. OK? Don’t do that.”
Kasich’s “advice” drew ire from many, who said that he was victim-blaming in his comments, perpetuating the common argument that by getting too drunk, the victim put herself in a situation to be raped or taken advantage of sexually.
“[Kasich’s] flawed logic should not be surprising. After all, Kasich’s comments are only the latest in a long tradition of Republican victim-blaming, which includes Todd Akin’s idea of “legitimate rape” and more recently, Ben Carson’s opposition to abortion for sex assault survivors,” says Angelina Chapin in a op-ed for The Guardian. “Yet the fact that so many influential men still fail to grasp the basics of rape culture is both intellectually baffling and incredibly dangerous for women. To decrease the rates of sexual assault, we need men to fight misogyny.”
However, Kasich defended his comments and his confusion as to why they were seen as offensive. “Actually, I don’t know how anybody would take it that way,” he said. “I don’t care if there’s a party with alcohol. I’m just saying be careful! That’s what I would tell my daughters.”
While Kasich may not have meant any harm in his advice, telling victims what to do to avoid getting raped—while not saying anything about the perpetrators—sends the wrong message.