Review by Booklist Review
The idea of the rapist as faceless stranger is but a comfortable myth, for in fact the majority of victims are raped by men they know. This book has been written to publicize the enormity of the problem. It is especially to be recommended to libraries in areas with high concentrations of young women, for although ``date rape'' occurs to women of all ages, its primary victims are young. The text's breathy tone and heavy reliance on anecdotal evidence give it the aura of a mass-market magazine article, though for the average reader it's too long by half. Still, for those whose lives have been traumatized by rape, it should be a lifeline to help and understanding. To be indexed. MPM.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Based on first-person accounts, scholarly studies and data from a nationwide survey of college campuses conducted by Ms. magazine, freelance journalist Warshaw draws a devastating portrait of men who rape women they know. The Ms. survey reveals that 25% of the college women polled have been the victims of rape or attempted rape, 84% of the victims were acquainted with the attacker and 57% of the rapes happened on dates. One in 12 of the male respondents admitted to acts that meet the legal definition of rape or attempted rape. Warshaw, herself the victim of an acquaintance rape, handles an inherently sensational subject with compassion and restraint. She describes and condemns the social milieu that condones such acts by encouraging men to see sex as conquest and women to view sexual coercion as part of the ``dating game.'' There is realistic, practical advice on how women can protect themselves against attacks by acquaintances and on how men can prevent this type of rape. Literary Guild alternate; author tour. (August) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
This book by journalist Warshaw is the culmination of a Ms. magazine survey funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The three-year study (conducted by Mary P. Koss, a clinical psychologist) surveyed 6100 undergraduates on 32 campuses to determine the amount of sexual aggression and characteristics of victimizers and victims, and to measure psychological aftereffects. The book combines results of the studythe most extensive of the topic to datewith firsthand accounts and professional literature. Highly recommended; its audience would include high school students. Frada L. Mozenter, Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A deeply disturbing study of date or acquaintance rape and the myths and cultural attitudes that encourage it. ""Date rape""--sexual assault by all acquaintance rather than a stranger--first became a familiar term following an article in Ms. magazine in 1982. The subsequent Ms. research project (under the leadership of psychologist Mary P. Koss, who details the study's methodology in an afterword) provides most of the statistical data for Warshaw's book, supplemented with reports of other researchers and accounts drawn from interviews and Warshaw's own experience: she was raped at knifepoint by an ex-boyfriend seven years ago, an experience she did not acknowledge until months after being approached to write this book. A thoroughly alarming picture emerges: the crime is extremely frequent, rarely reported, and even more rarely prosecuted; one out of 12 male college students surveyed admitted using physical force or the threat thereof to have sexual intercourse; acquaintance-rapists often consider their behavior socially acceptable and entirely normal; victims--in spite of physical and emotional trauma--rarely conceptualize what happened as ""rape"" if the attacker is someone they know. According to Warshaw, calling the crime by name is essential: the inability to perceive a sexual assault as a rape inhibits a woman's capacity to protect herself and society's ability to respond effectively; consciousness-raising itself aids prevention. The book focuses on the college campus; Warshaw highlights positive efforts at some colleges and documents the widespread, sometimes criminal negligence of administrators seemingly more interested in whitewashing negative publicity than in protecting women students. Her advice on rape-avoidance and her call for cultural change are sound, though somewhat utopian given the resistant social environment she describes. For women who have suffered acquaintance rape, Warshaw's book should be extraordinarily helpful. But it should be read by many others as well: a painful, provocative, and important work. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
