Letters to the Editor
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lies, damn lies, and statistics...
And going after "kids and their damn music" is not the whole answer...but can we at least give the guy some credit for having a real villian and not using the usual scapegoats (gays, working mothers, etc.) for why British society is going to hell in a handbasket? The problem is not just that women are objectified and that this leads to rape; it's that it's now socially acceptable (if not outright expected) to objectify other human beings.
England is the birthplace of Maxim magazine. Laddie magazines have existed for some time, but you can't argue that it's just this generation's Esquire or G.Q. Those magazines featured some of the top-notch writing of the 50s and 60s. I perused the boyfriend's roommate's copy of Maxim once--it was nothing but T&A, beer ads, and (I am not making this up) graphic snapshots of an Indian mahout being ripped in two by a disgruntled elephant. This was for entertainment value.
So, according to this very popular and societally-tolerated magazine, the first reaction young men are supposed to have on seeing pictures of a real, live man being torn in half is not horror but rather "Wow, cool, look at all the blood." The first reaction on seeing an attractive woman is supposed to be to try to have sex with her by any means neccessary. (Granted, these may have always been teenage boys' first thoughts in both situations--but there was almost always a correction from the elders of the group.)
It's rather un-P.C. to say this, but there is a fundamental morality that's missing from a society that tolerates this.