The movement to protect college students from triggers is making the leap from idiotic hand-wringing to actual harm:

Student organizations representing women’s interests now routinely advise students that they should not feel pressured to attend or participate in class sessions that focus on the law of sexual violence, and which might therefore be traumatic. These organizations also ask criminal-law teachers to warn their classes that the rape-law unit might “trigger” traumatic memories. Individual students often ask teachers not to include the law of rape on exams for fear that the material would cause them to perform less well. One teacher I know was recently asked by a student not to use the word “violate” in class—as in “Does this conduct violate the law?”—because the word was triggering.

Rather than resulting in people being laughed out of class—and encouraged to change their majors (or go get counseling)—these complaints are prompting professors to stop teaching the law of sexual violence:

About a dozen new teachers of criminal law at multiple institutions have told me that they are not including rape law in their courses, arguing that it’s not worth the risk of complaints of discomfort by students. Even seasoned teachers of criminal law, at law schools across the country, have confided that they are seriously considering dropping rape law and other topics related to sex and gender violence.

And this is a problem because… victims of sexual assault actually need lawyers, prosecutors, and judges who are familiar with the relevant law. Go read the whole thing.