A noted blogger and author examines sexual assault as a social phenomenon: provocative, sharp, and b.s.-free, Asking for It tackles rape culture and also offers suggestions for moving toward a culture that fully respects and supports victims, while protecting the rights of the accused.

Every seven minutes, someone in America commits a rape. And whether that's a football star, beloved celebrity, elected official, member of the clergy, or just an average Joe (or Joanna), there's probably a community eager to make excuses for that person.In Asking for It , Kate Harding combines in-depth research with an in-your-face voice to make the case that twenty-first-century America supports rapists more effectively than it supports victims. Drawing on real-world examples of what feminists call "rape culture",from politicos' revealing gaffes to institutional failures in higher education and the military,Harding offers ideas and suggestions for how we, as a society, can take sexual violence much more seriously without compromising the rights of the accused.