by Lisa Bennett, Communications Director

Because rape and sexual harassment can damage a young woman's life at worst and limit her opportunities at best, students on college campuses have been educating their peers about the impact of violence against women. At schools across the country, feminist activists are speaking out about date rape, the use of Rohypnol (the "date rape drug"), women's health and safety on campus, and the typically weak response of college officials to the issue.

Sadly, anti-women's rights groups have responded with an attack on what they call "victimology" feminism by spreading misinformation to college students. "Take Back the Campus" is a well-funded propaganda campaign initiated last spring and designed to halt any progress toward preventing and punishing violence and to discourage young women from becoming feminists. The campaign even calls campus feminism "kind of a cult."

The campaign's first move was to place ads in college news papers challenging what they call the "myths" of feminism by downplaying statistics on domestic violence and rape, pay inequity between the sexes, sexual harassment in schools and more. With questionable statistics and heated rhetoric, the advertisement targets students it says need "deprogramming."

Next up was the release of a study and supportive opinion pieces in national newspapers arguing that women's sexual freedom and empowerment are making it difficult to find a mate. The study claimed that "Marriage is a major life goal for the majority of today's college women, and most would like to meet a spouse while at college," and that "hooking up" is getting in the way of meeting that spouse while in still in school.

For Valentine's Day, the campaign asked students to reject Eve Ensler's play "The Vagina Monologues," which addresses how women feel about sex, love, men, other women, rape, war, gynecological exams and, of course, their vaginas. "The Vagina Monologues" has become an important tool in recent years for educating students about violence against women and the play's popularity on college campuses is clearly irking anti-women's rights forces.

With lots of money behind it, "Take Back the Campus" is not likely to stop until women's studies departments are dismantled, young women stop working toward equality and justice, and survivors of violence go back to keeping their mouths shut.

To clear up the misinformation that is being widely distributed to young people, NOW is compiling the best information available on domestic violence, rape and date rape. Government and health organizations have released a number of new studies in the last few years and the numbers speak for themselves - violence against women, particularly young women, continues to be a serious problem. Click here to read our first report on the truth about violence against women. More information will follow in the coming weeks so feminists on campus can set the record straight.