While I agree it is the underlying problem, it is one that will not be corrected soon or quickly. And until it is, women need to be armed, they *have* to be armed.
I advocate being armed and willing to use arms being taught as an essential part of being female around the entire world. “It is what girls do” should be the only justification needed. Girls and women who discover that one of their number is unarmed should loan her a weapon automatically, as certainly as they would loan her a tampon if one was needed and she didn’t have one.
Even in desperately poor countries, girls and women can get a sharp piece of metal or broken glass. Something. Anything. And part and parcel with having it, they must be prepared to use it to inflict injury. Not optionally.
Imperatively.
Did you read the article? The young girl or young woman or old woman who uses force like a piece of metal, broken glass, or firearm had better hope it works or it could result in far greater injury than rape. The assailant(s) will likely be stronger and also be armed and they will have the element of surprise. From the article:
As Scandinavia’s rape crisis has intensified, new features have emerged. For one thing, it’s spread from the cities to the provinces. There’s been an uptick in kinds of rape – such as gang rape – that were hardly ever seen in Scandinavia before. Today’s rapes, moreover, tend to be more violent than yesterday’s.
Then there’s the increasing number of child rapes – not only the rape of children, but also rape by children. Last November, a 17-year-old Afghan “refugee” brutally raped a 14-year-old girl in Malmø, Sweden. (The prosecutor might have asked for an expulsion order, but chose to request only the usual – short – jail term.) In January, in the same city, a 13-year-old girl was gang-raped by four boys. Two of the culprits were handed over to social services because they were only 13 and thus too young to prosecute; the other two, both 15, were arrested and charged, which outraged their lawyer: how dare the state put children on trial!
Better law enforcement (including profiling) and identifying the source of the problem, primarily Muslim immigrants from the Middle East and Africa are more effective in both the short and long term. Expecting a 12 year old to defend herself against four adult males is a non-starter.