Rape

[Tonus]

1. Why not teach both? Teach both genders about consent, and situation avoidance/handling.

I think that what they are referring to is victim-blaming, the idea that the victim put herself in a position to be raped. This lets the rapist off the hook, whether that was the intent or not. Everything from a woman's clothing to her location can be used to imply that she played a part in the subsequent attack. Most rape victims are already facing tremendous amounts of self-inflicted guilt over something that wasn't their fault, and having those around them (sometimes even family and friends) add to it can be psychologically devastating to the victim while at the same time providing the rapist with a way to feel better about himself.

Mind you, I think it's a good idea to give women advice on avoiding situations that can lead to rape or how to deal with a situation that she might not understand is rape. But I understand the efforts to separate the two approaches, because the one thing a rape victim needs is to be made to understand that the attack was not her fault, not even a tiny bit.

2. Since when has teaching determined criminals not to do something worked?

As others already pointed out, not every rapist is a determined criminal. Many rapes are committed by men who don't think they have done anything wrong at all, or who rationalize their actions by blaming the victim. This is probably the case when a husband rapes his wife, because he believes that forcing himself upon her cannot possibly be rape since they are married. Changing the attitudes at that level may help to reduce those incidences of rape, which are probably the majority of cases (not just the married couple, I mean).

But no, it won't work with determined criminals who are actively seeking victims. Rape, particularly in that circumstance, is not a crime about sex, it is about power and about imposing one's will over another. Sex is just the means by which the victim is made to feel as powerless as possible (and vice-versa for the attacker). I recall reading that for many of these types of rapists, they can only achieve sexual climax if their victim is terrified or otherwise suffering and hysterical.