I just read a horrific piece of information. It actually suggested that if a woman gets raped it is her fault

Question

What I mean by it saying it was her fault was that it said if a woman is dressed too sexy,walks a certain way, or has her makeup a certain way then it is her fault to get raped. I believe that's not true because the man that's planning to rape her would be the one to blame because he went thought with it,it's not the woman's fault she's just the innocent victim. It also stated that alot of women get called whores and sluts if they get raped...how does that make any sense because it's not their fault. Am I the only one who is completely appaled by this??

Answer 1

That attitude has always angered me. I don't care if a woman was caught outside naked, no one has the right to take advantage of her sexually. That includes date rape, etc. Sure, I wish women would stop and think about their dress/attire but a lot don't and think the more they show the more appealing they are but bottom line, unless a woman is in total agreeance, the word is NO! Just because you leave your house door unlocked as you run next door does not give someone the right to enter and take something from you.

Answer 2

I dont think its ever the womans fault. Having said that, if a woman dresses in a manner that is specifically aimed at attracting the opposite sex (in some cases the same sex), it really does not give any advantage, i think in some cases, it only encourages the rapist further, but it all hangs on the rapist, he can either chose to act on his impulses, or not.
As for the refering to a woman as a whore or slut is completly uncalled for, unless that woman is actually in the trade. It drives me crazy when a woman is accused of being a whore or slut, simply because she enjoys sex, and yet when a man enjoys sex and has lots of sex, he considered a "real" man and is not looked upon in any derogitory fasion. A woman should not be looked down upon if they enjoy sex. Sorry bit off topic and running a tangent, but the bottom line is that Any woman should not refered to as a slut or whore, especially after being raped, its unfair to the woman to shelter all the blame.

Answer 3

You are not the only one who is appaled by this. It doesn't matter if a woman walks down the street stark naked, she is not responsible for the actions of a man. He is responsible for his own action. There are things women can do to reduce the chances of being raped that include the way she dresses, or walks, but that does not mean that she is in any way responsible for a man's actions. The article was probably written by a man trying to pass the blame of his actions onto a woman.

Answer 4

All this is justification and rationalization for violence against women. Rape is NOT about sex; it's about power. And rapists use sex as a power-over tool.

It's a sad fact that even in the 21st century, a woman has to be careful of how she's dressed, where she walks, and who's around her at all times.

But the laws are improving slowly, and more and more women, from girls to senior citizens, are aware of rape-prevention strategies, and if, God forbid, they are raped, most know to treat their body as a crime scene, DO NOT WASH, and report immediately to the police. That's hard to do; the first instinct is to wash to get the slime off from the sub-humanoid attacker.

The best and most effective rape-prevention is education. From childhood, everyone needs to be told that we are all equal; we all deserve respect; part of that respect is the sovereignty of our own bodies; no one has the right to touch non-consensually; if someone does try to bully or harass, then there are severe penalties.

I recommend that all young women by the time they can comprehend what rape is be taken by their mother, aunt, cousin, etc. to a rape-prevention and self-defense class, and have this repeated every few years as needed. Nothing works better than a good kick to the balls. But what also works is knowing how to dress, and how to walk and hold yourself. There are specific movements and ways of walking that just scream "victim". Women must know how to walk and act confidently.

You are right to be appalled, but there is much that can be done to fight back and to nip the problem in the bud. Education is the first line of defense, starting at home, then in schools where there are zero-tolerance bullying and sexual harassment rules, then in the workplace where there are the same zero-tolerance rules. Ultimately a woman must protect herself. Get trained in self-defense. Realize it can happen to you or anyone, and IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT.

And if you are raped, fight to kill. If you take out a rapist, it is no loss to the world.

Cheers, K -- teacher, socialist, revolutionary, feminist, human rights advocate

Answer 5

It is never a womans fault if she gets raped.. It is always the guys fault..
A woman should be able to dress any way that she likes. she dresses that way because she thinks it makes her pretty.. that is her choice.
Being raped does not make her a whore or a slut.. because it wasn't her decision.
It is appauling the way women and or men that are raped are treated. and the ones who call names should have it done to them to show them how it really makes them feel..
They need alot of therapy after being raped not criticism.

Answer 6

When someone rapes it is all about control so no matter how you are dressed it would make no difference to the rapist. A lot of people are so ignorant about so many things and calling a woman those kinds of names when she has been raped to me is right there at the top of being stupid. What about the child of three that has been raped? People that say things like that are wrong. I will say when a woman puts herself in a situation on purpose and really dresses inappropriately she is putting herself in danger especially when drinking and how easy it is to put the date rape product in her drink without her knowing it. We have so many young woman that have disappeared without a trace so I would say please be careful all ladies.

Answer 7

You are not alone and the person that wrote the article has no idea what goes through a rapists mind. They target women that fit a certain profile and most of the time it is the woman who is completely oblivious to her surroundings and is pre-occupied with something. They prefer the element of surprise and rape is all about control and fear it has nothing to do with sex or sexuality. If a woman, or man for that matter, is raped it is definitely not their fault.

Answer 8

Lawyers defending rapists would much rather have women on a jury than men. Why? They are more likely to buy the arguments like "she was drunk", "she was wearing her skirts too short", "she was walking in the wrong neighborhood", "she was out at the wrong hour of the day", etc. Why is that? Because these women want to believe that if they don't get drunk, wear long enough skirts, stay out of the wrong neighborhood, don't go out at the wrong hour of the day, that they will be safe and not fall victom to this type of crime. That's right, in order to protect themselves from being raped, they will put a known rapist back on the streets. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it. Rape is not about sex. It is about power. If I can make you do the one thing that you most want to reserve for that someone special in your life, then I feel that I have a lot of power. Rape is about men who feel powerless forcing women to do something they most don't want to do, and thereby feeling powerful. No sexual gratification is involved (mind you, the subconcious doesn't get the memo and when the body is stimulated sexually, it responds approprately and ejaculates; so just because he ejaculates doesn't mean he recieved sexual pleasure from the act). I'm not a woman, but I don't find babe particularly offensive. Then again, I would never call anyone this if I were not dating them. I put it on the same level as "dear", "honey", etc. It is a term of endearment. Some people, particularly waitresses, seem to try to synthize an inapproprate closeness, which they think makes them come off as friendly (and thereby get bigger tips). I don't know, I guess some guys buy into this and do tip bigger (must work or else they wouldn't keep doing it), but I find inapproprate use of terms of endearment to come off as "fake". I guess I don't find it offense, I find it mildly annoying.

Answer 9

I'm surprised at your (and most of the other answerers) surprise at this.

This used to be a very common line of thought. Rape trials used to routinely put the victim on trial for what she was wearing and for her sexual past.

(This is no longer allowed -- I mean, come on. If I ever said yes to any man at any time under any circumstances I have thereby said yes to every man, any time under any circumstances? Gimme a break.)

The idea that men are completely out-of-control sex-crazed creatures who, if they see a woman in a revealing outfit are compelled to commit the brutality of rape actually used to be a defense.

Although I'm disgusted to learn someone is still using this line, I'm heartened that so few people have even heard it before, let alone buy it.

I guess we have made some progress.

Answer 10

We all agree that a women that a victim of rape is NOT at fault. However, some women put themselves at risk for date rape with drinking, and drug use. Many date rapes occur when women have a lack of coherence due to drinking or drug use and many go unreported. Some states have instituted laws that protect intoxicated women, but date rape is hard to prove.