I don't think that article was intended to be all encompassing. I certainly didn't think it conveyed anyone as "victim, helpless, victim, victim." It conveyed very strongly that women and girls need to be aware and think on their feet -- and that society needs to teach men to respect women.

The article struck a chord with me because the writer talks about behavior that our society tends to sweep under the rug. I certainly was not seeking out the attention of older men and boys, yet I was a victim any way. We were crossing paths in a school yard during a school day, for goodness sake - where one wouldn't expect to be assaulted and certainly not at that age. I'm sure that the school authorities would have brushed aside any complaint from me about the 5th grader grabbing my breast. They might have admonished him, but I bet I've have been told "boys will be boys."

If you want the article to be all encompassing and an analysis of society's ills, it would need to be a book - and the writer's intended audience would not read it. I believe the writer wants young girls to think about their own safety and behavior in the middle ground that is so rarely discussed, and that won't happen without a short article about her own emotional turmoil speaking directly to the most at-risk audience. Will she cause one young girl to think twice? If so, it doesn't matter what us soon-to-be 50 years think of the article.