The National Organization for Women is urging The Washington Post to drop George Will's column after he downplayed the prevalence of campus sexual assault and suggested some college efforts to curb it “make victimhood a coveted status.”

Will has received harsh criticism over his June 7 syndicated column, in which he cited the response to “the supposed campus epidemic of rape, aka 'sexual assault'” as an example of how when colleges “make victimhood a coveted status that confers privileges, victims proliferate.”

The column has drawn complaints from numerous women's rights groups and prompted National Organization for Women President Terry O'Neill to call for Will's ouster Tuesday.

“George Will needs to take a break from his column and The Washington Post needs to take a break from his column, they need to dump him,” O'Neill told Media Matters in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “It is actively harmful for the victims of sexual assault when that kind of man writes a piece that says to assault victims, 'it didn't happen and if it did happen you deserve it.' That re-traumatizes victims. I can't believe that Mr. Will has had this experience if he would put out such a hateful message.”

“We want him to back off and we want The Washington Post to stop carrying his column.”

O'Neill later added, “That is absolutely the kind of further attack on victims that just does such extraordinary harm ... The media blaming women for the horrific rape of violence against women and sexual assault it is really shameful.”

NOW's request follows a similar call for Will's departure from the women's rights group UltraViolet, which launched a petition drive to remove Will.

Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt defended Will's column, issuing this statement to Media Matters:

George Will's column was well within the bounds of legitimate debate. I welcomed his contribution, as I welcome the discussion it sparked and the responses, some of which we will be publishing on our pages and website. This is what a good opinion site should do. Rather than urge me to silence a viewpoint they disagree with, I would urge others also to join the debate, and to do so without mischaracterizing the original column.

That debate has occurred on the Post's own website, which has published pieces criticizing the Will column from Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., as well as Post blogger Alyssa Rosenberg.