Poster blames rape victims, does it?

[Solomon1]

I for one, am all about pragmatism, doing things and raising awareness, with a goal of keeping women safe, and reducing the incidence of rape

 

And this is best done by teaching boys, at an early age, how to negotiate consensual sex.

 

And that having sex with a barely conscious male or female, is rape

[RootsBooster]

And this is best done by teaching boys, at an early age, how to negotiate consensual sex.

 

And that having sex with a barely conscious male or female, is rape

 

Back to the thread though, can you explain why you believe that the poster blames the victim?

[milquetoast1]

Back to the thread though, can you explain why you believe that the poster blames the victim?

 

If a mother says to her daughter before she goes out; "Look, don't drink too much I don't want you to be raped", then that could be interpreted as advice.

 

If a mother later visits her daughter in hospital after she has been raped and says; "Look, don't drink too much next time I don't want you to be raped", then that could be interpreted as blaming. I'm pretty sure if the police/nurses heard a mother saying that to her daughter they would be quite shocked.

 

The poster does both. It cannot shut up. It sends a message simultaneously to potential victims, potential rapists, victims and rapists.

 

The nature of this sort of campaign is that it will retrospectively assign blame in the minds of victims, it's only natural and unavoidable.

 

This is not saying that it is wrong to have a poster campaign of this nature on a variety of issues, it's just explaining that a victim might see this poster and interpret it as blame.

[RootsBooster]

If a mother says to her daughter before she goes out; "Look, don't drink too much I don't want you to be raped", then that could be interpreted as advice.

 

If a mother later visits her daughter in hospital after she has been raped and says; "Look, don't drink too much next time I don't want you to be raped", then that could be interpreted as blaming. I'm pretty sure if the police/nurses heard a mother saying that to her daughter they would be quite shocked.

 

The poster does both. It cannot shut up. It sends a message simultaneously to potential victims, potential rapists, victims and rapists.

 

The nature of this sort of campaign is that it will retrospectively assign blame in the minds of victims, it's only natural and unavoidable.

 

This is not saying that it is wrong to have a poster campaign of this nature on a variety of issues, it's just explaining that a victim might see this poster and interpret it as blame.

 

You're still just stating how you interpret it, without explaining what leads you to do so.

[milquetoast1]

You're still just stating how you interpret it, without explaining what leads you to do so.

 

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/blame

 

blame

bleɪm/Submit

verb

1.

feel or declare that (someone or something) is responsible for a fault or wrong.

 

Blame is absolutely about interpretation.

 

Since we have a number of rape victims who have said that they feel that this poster attributes blame, then shouldn't it be you that's explaining why it does not? Why their feeling that it holds them partly responsible for their own assault is not valid just because it doesn't lead you to interpret it that way?

 

The other posters attribute blame too. The woman looks a total mess, well it's her fault for drinking too much. The man lies injured in a drunken heap, well it's his fault for drinking too much. Nobody gets angry about those though for a very obvious reason.

[Halibut]

Isn't it patently obvious why many feel that this poster is victim blaming?

 

The inference is that if a woman is raped when she's drunk, then she's partly to blame.

This is, of course, a load of tosh.

[SavannahP]

Isn't it patently obvious why many feel that this poster is victim blaming?

 

The inference is that if a woman is raped when she's drunk, then she's partly to blame.

This is, of course, a load of tosh.

 

What if she is drunk and says yes to sex, and he is drunk and says yes to sex and the following morning she accuses him of rape and he is convicted of rape.

 

Unlike the alcohol limit for driving, there is no limit for ones ability to consent.

[Halibut]

What if she is drunk and says yes to sex, and he is drunk and says yes to sex and the following morning she accuses him of rape and he is convicted of rape.

 

Cases such as these are a very small minority. The much more common situation is that rapists rape women and get away with it.

[SavannahP]

Cases such as these are a very small minority. The much more common situation is that rapists rape women and get away with it.

 

So in the scenario I presented was she at least partially to blame?

 

Our system of law requires proof beyond reasonable doubt so if two people have sex it is very difficult to prove that one of them didn't consent.

Edited November 7, 2014 by SavannahP

[Halibut]

So in the scenario I presented was she at least partially to blame?

 

Partly to blame for what? In the scenario you gave, there was no rape.