A new study published in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol makes it clear that women who have four or more drinks in a row are at increased risk for sexual assault.

The study looked at thousands of randomly selected students at 119 colleges. It found that in almost three-quarters of the campus rapes that occurred, the victims were “so intoxicated they were unable to consent or refuse.”

The study looked at colleges with high and low rates of binge drinking, and found that women from those schools with high binge drinking rates had a considerably greater risk of being raped than women at schools with less binge drinking.

For many students, having four or more drinks at a time is barely worth worrying about. The definition of binge drinking for men is five or more drinks in a row - women are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol.

Even women who binge occasionally were more likely to have been raped while they were intoxicated. The risk of being raped was higher for women who were under 21, white, lived in sorority houses, used drugs or were binge drinkers while in high school.

The study is not saying that victim characteristics cause sexual assault. No one deserves to be raped, and it is never the victim’s fault. We do want to look at what creates a higher likelihood of being victimized, and it is clear that heavy drinking (by both the victim and the perpetrator) is a huge risk factor. In fact, some men are not aware that having sex with a woman who is too intoxicated to give consent is rape.

Both legally and morally, if someone does not or cannot consent to sexual activity, then she or he has been sexually assaulted.

Many young women fool themselves into thinking they can binge drink and remain safe. They think friends will look out for them; or the guys at the party are all nice and would never do such a thing; or they can hold their liquor and stop a dangerous situation before it happens; or since they are drinking beer, it doesn’t matter if they drink a six-pack.

Unless you are aware of your surroundings and able to take responsibility for your safety, you are in danger.

Over the years I’ve worked with many rape victims who thought they would be okay despite binge drinking. Alcohol is the number-one date rape drug, far ahead of roofies, GHB or any other substance used to facilitate rape.

Predators will often encourage women to drink as a means of lowering their resistance and making them more vulnerable.

The other point of this study is that the campus drinking culture has a major impact on the risk of rape. I don’t know where UTM would stand in the categories of high binge drinking rates (more than 50 percent of students had four or five drinks in a row in the previous two weeks) vs. low binge rates (less than 35 percent of students reported binges). I do know that among students who drink, four or five beers or mixed drinks are often not considered excessive drinking. Some students consider 12 or more drinks in a row to be no big deal.

This study, part of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, states that we need to consider the drinking behavior of the college as a whole in determining risk of sexual assault.

The authors of the study have this to say: “College men must be educated for their own protection that intoxication is a stop sign for sex. College women need to be warned not only about the vulnerability created by heaving drinking, but also about the extra dangers imposed in situations where other people are drinking heavily.”