I can talk about rape in the UK. Look I'm doing it now!

What I can't do is be threatening, abusive or insulting towards anyone while I do it. I appreciate that these are very grey areas as what one person considers insulting is difficult to gauge. I could easily offend someone through no intention on my part. These points of law in the UK and i'd guess most liberal democracies are always going to cause contention and raise the question of free speech v other generally accepted liberties which include being able to live a life without fear and persecution.

Unfortunately most cases of sexual assault and rape go unreported but I feel this has little to do with the fear of being labelled racist and more to do with the victims fear of not being believed and the stigma attached to it. Statistically though more cases of sexual assault are being reported and it is believed that this is due to the various campaigns that are now being run around the issue. At the University at which I work, as part of the talk on sexual content, we use the 'cup of tea' analogy. This compulsory talk is given to all 1st year undergrad and postgrad students from all the many nationalities and cultures that attend the institution. I'm not sure which news sources you've been reading that suggest that political correctness has somehow won over common sense and indeed the law in the UK but young people in particular are more than happy to discuss these kind of issues in a frank and constructive manner.

As for the advantage of guns in self-defence sure you can shoot an assailant, that's if he's not shot you first. But driving down the street of my town I can also be confident that if i'm involved in a fender bender or any other interaction with another individual where tempers might get frayed, that no one is going to shoot me in the face - a point that i believe @studgriffin had previously made. Is there any evidence that more guns leads to less crime?