There are so many ways I was outraged at the Red Zone email sent out by UND that I really didn’t know where to start.

See, I was (and still am) very upset and offended by this email. I am angered as a person. I am angered as a feminist. I am angered as a woman. I am angered as a survivor.

This email is everything rape culture is wrapped up into a tidy little package.

I have tried very, very hard to see the positives in this email, and I can’t.

There is nothing inherently wrong with educating people in self protection. There is nothing wrong in giving tips to help keeps oneself safe. There is something wrong in only doing this, only targeting the victim.

My first point of outrage comes from the source. According to the email, “One out of four women will be sexually assaulted” and this time period, the Red Zone, is when college women are at their “highest risk.” It then launches into a bulleted list of how to avoid becoming a victim, citing things like taking a self defense course or locking your doors. It offers nothing in terms of how to find a self defense course (or how to afford one) or what to do if you don’t have a cellphone with you when walking about by yourself. It tries so hard to help, but really just reiterates what everyone (potential victims and potential attackers) already know and do.

If we know that this time of year is the most risky for college women, why are we not beefing up security?

Why are we putting the responsibility on the potential victims? If we are operating under the assumption that attacks will happen -— as the language of the email suggests — then shouldn’t the priority be on catching the attackers?

This list is no better than a victim blaming checklist. “Were you walking alone?” Check. “Were you walking after dark?” Check.

“Well, it looks like you could have prevented your assault, therefore it is your fault.”

This kind of logic is used in courtrooms and police stations every single day in America. The victim becomes the one at fault, not the attacker. It operates under the idea of: “People will be attacked. Make sure it’s not you. Make sure it’s the other girl. The girl who didn’t walk in a well-lit area.”

On top of that, this letter paints men as no better than horny boys who will assault anything in a skirt. They have to, you see. They can’t control themselves so we women have to control our behavior so we can avoid Mr. Scary Man. I can imagine very few college men who would like being portrayed this way.

“Boys will be boys” is a logic that hurts everyone.

The only people it helps are the attackers.

As much as it pains me to say it, we will never be able to completely stop crime from being committed. But we live in a culture that doesn’t view assault (especially sexual assault) in the same way it views other crime.

Headlines moan and cry about football players’ ruined careers as a result of assault charges instead of talking about the fact that they beat someone bloody.

Women who come forward to charge public figures with abuse are sent death threats, as has been happening with the YouTuber Sam Pepper, whose fame is based on publicly assaulting women and filming it as “comedy.”

Rape culture is real. I live in it. You live in it. This email proves it.

This email was meant to be helpful. In a way, that’s the most terrifying part about it. We need to be focusing on changing how we as a society view assault and sex crimes.

One in four is far too many to be something that isn’t a cultural phenomenon. We can change it, but not with the approach this email takes.

Blaming the victim isn’t the answer. It never was and never will be.

Societal change will take time, but it has to start. It could have started with this email, but it seems UND missed the opportunity.

Kjerstine Trooien is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].