Laurie Halse Anderson published the Time Magazine article, which is probably one of the best looks at sexual assault. Laurie Halse Anderson is the bestselling author of several children’s and young adult books, including Speak and Chains. In the beginning, she thought she knew rape because of personal experience at 13, but she has spent decades learning.

She has spoken to many young girls but has also had a fair share of boys.

And then there are the half-confessions. No boy has ever come out and admitted to me that he raped someone, but a few have said, “I might have pushed things too far,” or “Well, we were drunk,” or “Things got out of hand and… she refused to talk to me after that night.” They don’t look me in the eye as they say this. They are not proud of themselves. Their confused shame is heart-breaking and infuriating

They don’t believe that she was actually raped. They argue that she drank beer, she danced with her attacker and, therefore, she wanted sex. They see his violence as a reasonable outcome. Many of them have clearly been in the same situation.

They say this openly. They are not ashamed; they are ill-informed. These boys have been raised to believe that a rapist is a bad guy in the bushes with a gun. They aren’t that guy, they figure, so they can’t be rapists.

The quoted pieces speak to a better understanding of rape and ways that, as an effective parent, educator, or healthcare provider, we can be a part of stopping these assaults. The Old Saturday Morning Cartoon bit used to say, “Knowledge is Power!” Give it a read, it’s a pretty good article.