Colorado Dem: Women don’t need to defend themselves if they “feel like they’re going to be raped”

by NW Spotlight

Last Friday, Colorado Democratic state Rep. Joe Salazar told women “you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble – when you may actually not be.”

He was arguing against women being able to protect themselves by having a concealed handgun on Colorado college campuses – letting women know that even though they may be worried they are going to be raped, they may not actually get raped.

Besides the fact that he shows an aloof, callous disregard for the safety of vulnerable female students in Colorado, he is also demonstrating an appalling ignorance of campus safety.

In 2011, there were 3,396 forcible sex offenses on U.S. college campuses.

Also in 2011, there were 1,624 robberies, 2,440 aggravated assaults, 20,072 burglaries and 16 murders on U.S. college campuses.

What does Rep. Salazar suggest for women who “feel like they’re gonna be raped?” Call boxes, safe zones and whistles. Based on the campus crime numbers, it looks like the whistles aren’t working.

The college crime stats come from the U.S. Department of Education – collecting the data is required by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The above numbers for college campuses don’t include any crimes committed in college parking lots, sidewalks or off-campus sites like fraternities and sororities.