Exposure and consequencesRape can ruin lives. The act of sexual violence is associated with a long list of public health problems, including illness, unintended pregnancy, physical trauma, mental and emotional suffering, and death. Although rape can be simply defined as sexual intercourse without consent, the impact of rape on society is complex. Victims are often stigmatized. They feel ashamed, weak and guilty. In the United States, an estimated 18 percent of women reported being raped at least once in their lives, according to a 2007 study cited by the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. For female students, the figures are slightly higher: 1 in 5 women report having been raped during their years of study (cited in Lawyer, Resnick, Von Bakanic, Burkett, Kilpatrick, 2010, p. 453). To better contextualize these numbers, let's look at SF State. Just over 17,000 women attended school here in 2013, according to demographic data listed on SF State's website. If we were to follow these women through their college years, we can assume that 2,400 of them would be raped. These are alarming statistics, especially since we know that rapes are vastly underreported, suggesting that the percentages of rapes may be even higher. Students drink more alcohol than the normal public (cited in Gunby, Carline, Beynon, 2012, p. 88). This is troubling for women because alcohol is known to increase the risk of victimization. In most alcohol-related rape situations, women voluntarily drank large quantities of alcohol before being raped. It is more common for female students to be raped after being drunk than to be forcibly raped (as cited in Messman-Moore, Ward, DeNard, 2013, p. 50). Alcohol intoxication often affects...... middle of paper ...... accurate reading of signals relevant to consent. References: Messman-Moore, L.T, Ward, MR and DeNArd, AK (2013). The impact of sexual alcohol expectations and risky behaviors on alcohol-related rape among female college students. Violence Against Women, 19(4), 449. Crawford, E., O'Dougherty, W., & Birchmeier, Z. (2008). Drug-facilitated sexual assault: risk perception and behavioral choices of female students. Journal of American College Health, 57(3). 261. Lawyer, S., Resnick, H., Bakanic, V., Burkett, T., and Kilpatrick, D. (2010). Forced, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault among undergraduate women. Journal of American College Health, 58(5). 453.Gunby, C., Carline, A. and Beynon, C. (2013). Regret it afterwards? Focus group perspectives on alcohol use, nonconsensual sex, and false rape allegations. Social and legal studies 22(1). 87.