It’s no ghost story, but a true story… Before I go on, time for some math: alcohol + people = (you fill in the blank)

What’d you put in? Probably not rape, right? Probably not sexual harassment…Probably not even “being taken advantage of”.

Halloween weekend is here and if you’re a 20-something socialite like myself, I’m sure you’ll be seeing some rather scandalous costumes and/or activity. I believe it was the movie ‘Mean Girls’ that made this phrase famous: “It’s the one time of year that every girl dresses like a slut and gets away with it.” At any rate, I want to remind people that ‘NO’ MEANS NO.

NO! It doesn’t matter if someone is dressed “like a slut” or is intoxicated. NO! It doesn’t matter if you know him but don’t want him.

1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).

shocking? check this out:

Approximately 62% of female rape victims knew their assailant.

Maybe you’ve heard or seen these statistics somewhere, but it’s never really been an issue “close to home.” But let me ask you this, why must it be close to home for you to be proactive and aware of your surroundings?

The numbers increase when drinking is involved, but that’s NO excuse for anyone to touch you or verbally harass you.  26% of men who acknowledged committing sexual assault admitted that they were intoxicated at the time of the assault, and an additional 29% reported being mildly buzzed.

Women, empower yourself with some great tools: say NO, be around good FRIENDS, have your cell phone HANDY, know the AREA WELL, know how to DEFEND YOURSELF.

Men, misogynist jokes ARE NOT FUNNY. Not every woman wants to “hit it” with you. To the good men that are reading this: we look up to you strong, honorable men to lower these scary numbers and to help create a safe environment.

Friends, I don’t write this to scare you or to be your mother. I write this to empower you and to raise awareness. There’s a big difference between a drunken hookup (with consent) and being raped.

Have so much fun this weekend, be safe (!!!) and really take the time to be proactive. If you are in an uncomfortable situation and/or see someone struggling, know that you are strong enough to take a stand to do something.

Stats in bold are public information issued by the National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2000).

For more information on date rape prevention, click here.