Scott Lindquist

About the author: Scott Lindquist is a rape prevention specialis t and the author of The Date Rape Prevention Book, from which the following viewpoint is excerpted.

The majority of rapes are date and acquaintance rapes, in which the victim and the assailant are acquainted on some level. The perpetrator wrongly uses force or the threat of force to have sex with the victim against her will or when the victim is physically or mentally unable to give consent. Women, particularly in the college environment, must not drop their guard around men they think they know; instead, they should learn to identify date rapists by understanding the behaviors typical of sex assailants. Date rape is not just a misunderstanding—it is forcibly obtaining power over another individual through the...