Women, beware of having a drink. If you are assaulted, the law will not protect you.

Women, beware of having a drink. If you are assaulted, the law will not protect you.

In 2019, the Manhattan district attorney’s office rejected 49% of sexual assault cases, and a frequent reason was that victims who had been drinking and knew their attackers were dismissed as not credible. In New York, as in many other states, a person who voluntarily drinks alcohol and then becomes severely impaired is regarded as capable of granting sexual consent unless she can prove she was fully unconscious.

Continue reading this op-ed, which appeared in the New York Daily News on December 9, 2021. 

Chanel Miller speaks onstage at the 2019 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards at Alice Tully Hall on November 11, 2019 in New York City. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Glamour