Skip to main content

College women told to urinate or vomit to deter a rapist

By Lateef Mungin, CNN
updated 5:26 PM EST, Wed February 20, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The list was billed as last resort to deter a rape
  • Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin criticized the list
  • The university took the list down and apologized

(CNN) -- A Colorado school has caused a stir with an advisory that suggested women could urinate or vomit to deter a rape.

The list of 10 tips by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was billed as "last resort" options to deter a sexual assault.

"Tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating," read one tip.

"Vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone," read another.

By Tuesday night, the list was taken down and replaced by an explanation and an apology. But it was too late.

The backlash had hit the Internet, and a hashtag on Twitter was created.

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin was one of many who criticized the eyebrow-raising list using the hashtag #UCCSTips.

"New #UCCSTips for women: If vomiting or urinating doesn't deter your attacker, try passing gas," Malkin tweeted.

"#UCCSTips or if all else fails, ask attacker to pull your finger!" Jason Griggs tweeted.

Police: Man raped woman he met on Christian dating website

Some women on the Colorado campus said they were confused by the list.

"Tell your attacker you have a disease or menstruating? I don't understand how that will keep someone from attacking you," student Leah McFann told CNN affiliate KRDO.

Some on campus also wondered why the list did not emphasize more conventional ways of fighting back.

Tom Hutton, a spokesman for the university, said the list had been taken out of context.

"It was part of supplemental information intended for women who had completed a self-defense class on campus," Hutton told KRDO.

Gang rape victim fights back for girls' education

Hutton said the list was created in 2006 but may have resurfaced because the issue of rape on campus had been in the news recently in Colorado.

Last week, Colorado lawmakers debated legislation that would ban firearms in college campus buildings. The debate made headlines after Democratic State Rep. Joe Salazar made controversial statements about ways to protect women on campuses.

"Because you just don't know who you are going to be shooting at," Salazar said last week. "If you feel like you're going to be raped or if you feel like someone's been following you around or if you feel like you're in trouble and when you may actually not be -- that you pop out that gun and you pop-pop a round at somebody. And you might have just made a mistake."

Salazar later apologized for the comment.

Amanpour: Fighting rape in South Africa's 'broken system'

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
updated 8:31 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
In soccer-mad Brazil, the World Cup, Confederations Cup and FIFA have become symbols of corruption and waste.
updated 8:59 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
A man who silently stood in Taksim Square and stared at a portrait of the founder of the modern Turkish state, drew hundreds to his vigil.
updated 1:26 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
In a file picture taken on January 30, 2012, Taliban fighters stand with their weapons as they hold the Muslim holy book Koran after they joined Afghan government forces during a ceremony in Herat province. The medieval Taliban who ran Afghanistan with the Koran in one hand and a gun in the other now tweet and talk peace, but they remain a potent threat as a NATO withdrawal looms.
As Afghan forces formally take over security of the country, what is likely to be on the table when the U.S. and the Taliban meet for talks?
updated 4:54 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
North Korea's recent belligerence has many in China, its lone ally, saying enough is enough. But would Beijing really cut Kim Jong Un off?
updated 6:47 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
Whether you have a vague fear of Big Brother or a desire to keep your bank information private, there are ways of securing your data.
Among the intriguing pieces of history in Chinese coastal province Fujian are the tulou: large, round, rammed-earth buildings dating back centuries.
updated 11:39 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
NYU did a great favor not only for the Chinese dissident but also for both the U.S. and Chinese governments, writes James Millward.
updated 11:14 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is laying low, but that's becoming increasingly difficult. CNN's Ian Lee reports.
updated 7:11 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
Esspresso being made at the Everyman Expresso coffee house July 31, 2012 in the Soho section of New York.
Tired of seeing developed nations take the lion's share of profits from his country's coffee crop, a Ugandan businessman decided on a new plan.
updated 9:22 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
There's a new menace lurking in the streets of London -- exploding sidewalks, which have injured at least 5 people.
ADVERTISEMENT