Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s repeated misguided approach to understanding women’s agency on and off college campuses is concerning.

In response to a first-year St. Lawrence University student who asked how Kasich as president would help her “feel safer and more secure regarding sexual violence, harassment and rape” at a town hall in Canton, New York, on Friday, the candidate spoke on anti-sexual assault efforts in Ohio, according to CNN.

But in addition to discussing access to confidential reporting and rape kits, the presidential hopeful — who will be hosting a campaign event in Syracuse on Monday — also advised her to not “go to parties where there is a lot of alcohol.”

Though Kasich’s sentiment may have been well-intentioned, it is nothing but tone-deaf at its core in the context of college social landscapes. For many students, parties are a central part of campus life and to make the argument that students should avoid them entirely because of the risk of assault is neither practical nor conducive.

While the comment could be interpreted as either blaming the victim or claiming people are more likely to commit sexual assault under the influence, either way, it fails to hold offenders accountable.

After receiving backlash for what was generally perceived to be a “victim-blaming” comment, Kasich defended his response and said, “It’s just, you have to be careful. When alcohol is involved, it becomes more difficult for justice to be rendered, for a whole variety of reasons. But we can still find the perpetrator.”

Alcohol can definitely play a role in sexual assaults as a catalyst. Data from a 2007 National Institute of Justice study on drug-facilitated, incapacitated and forcible rape found that 89 percent of sexual assault victims reported drinking alcohol and 82 percent reported being drunk before their victimization.

But to blame the assault itself on alcohol is insubstantial when rape is driven by an individual’s motive, not their intoxication. Just last semester, two Syracuse University students reported off-campus sexual offenses in which the students reported being “forcibly” touched in their private area on the same day in separate incidents in public spaces, according to a Department of Public Safety release. These assaults did not take place in a party setting with alcohol involved.

Kasich’s message is invalid and reinforced by his repeated and disturbing lack of respect for women. The alcohol comment comes after he told a young woman at a University of Richmond town hall in October that he didn’t have any Taylor Swift tickets and questioned last week whether another young woman had come up with a question on social security by herself.

Kasich should refrain from making assumptions about women when he lacks a comprehensive understanding of gender dynamics, particularly in college spheres. And when sexual assault involves taking conscious advantage of another person, these statements are not ones that should be taken lightly from the potential future leader of the United States.

Published on April 18, 2016 at 12:55 am

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