There will always be adults who conflate teenage enthusiasm and legal consent. And let's be frank: in a society that says minors can't consent, the people who flout these laws are not typically healthy, well-adjusted adults.
How we deal with these incidents plays a huge role in a) how potential perps weigh risk/benefits and b) how acceptable potential victims see this behavior as being. The media coverage has been generally decent, the public commentary generally disappointing, and the final punishment... well, I get the sense women who only blow teenage boys on the weekend must only deserve weekends in jail.
I'm gonna go ahead and bet mixed messages about the seriousness of predatory sexual behavior play a big role in many boys' misshapen attitudes about sexual assault (what it entails, if it's a big deal, how often it happens). Whether it's constant jokes about priestly molesters, a "hot" teach and her "lucky" middle-school student, or the more general sexual paradox boys face (be sexual or be an outcast but also male sexuality is inherently predatory and violent; try to walk that tightrope) we can't engage in social conditioning of this sort and expect boys to grow into men who think sexual misbehavior is a problem.
I'm getting off-topic, but this stuff has been bouncing around my head for a couple of years now for obvious reasons. Poor sexual conduct is a societal problem, not just a women's issue. Accepting the prevalence of people being shitty to other people on a sexual basis (gender irrelevant) is step one. Step two is getting on the same page about what is and isn't acceptable and enforcing those expectations consistently. And that's it. Two steps. No more lies in the Rolling Stone, no more "she was asking for it because xyz" or "when I was a kid, I'd have loved to nail my teacher", no more impotent moral panic and pointless college "resources" that hardly affect the statistics at all.
If our people aren't doing right by one another, we need to face up to all of it so we can get it sorted out. Anything less is a waste of energy at best and sanctimonious hypocrisy at worst. That's my piece.