GOP/Religious Fundiinutzies Logic - You Can't Be Raped Unless You Consent Or

[TheMastersNemesis]

you are responsible because you put yourself in a bad situation.

[etherealtruth]

1. Unfortunately ....

.... there has been a spate of posts spewing the same lines of garbage right here on DU.

[Buzz Clik]

2. I think that some people's comments are not interpreted properly.

The theme of many of the rape threads is that rape is a male problem and women are collateral damage. Men wouldn't rape if only their parents had told them that rape is bad. Therefore, women should not be held accountable at any level when they are raped.

Some who respond merely say that women should be careful in their actions to try to avoid vulnerable situations. As often happens at DU, the responses are immediately twisted into something unrecognizable.

[etherealtruth]

3. I am careful in my everyday life

... I do not want to be robbed, murdered or raped ... however, many of the comments that you claim are misconstrued have to do with women living their lives assuming the same freedoms as men enjoy.

I happen to not drink (actually I drink socially/ very, very sparingly/ <12 drinks per year) ... but, if I were to choose to drink in bars ... my very presence there (drinking, as that is what the establishment is there for) should not EVER be used to insinuate that I have willingly placed myself in jeopardy.

My dress is never an invitation for rape .... nor is it ever an excuse or a mitigating factor.

The idea is that all people need to be educated about what rape is and that it is never acceptable ... it is not a "spoil of war" .... it is never contingent on what the rapist perceives as an other human beings provocative behavior .... it is not explainable because a person was in a vulnerable position

I lock my doors, I try to be aware of my surroundings ... I do the things that men do to protect themselves (if I can avoid being alone in a "bad neighborhood" I do) ... to suggest I have a larger responsibility to not be a victim than others do to NOT victimize me is offensive.

I am not twisting your meaning ... I am simply appalled by the position that a victim should be held at all accountable for being victimized. We all like to think that someone , somehow did something that caused their victimization ... it gives folk a false sense of safety. If I don't do X I will be safe ... is never true

[Buzz Clik]

4. I understand and agree with everything you are saying.

Rape is a crime. The victim is not the cause of the rape.

Rapists who blame the way the woman was dressed or acted are lying. They are violent criminals who prey on vulnerable targets.

A woman should be able to go into a public place and not worry about being raped.

Education is not a bad idea, but I doubt any rapist believes that his actions were legal.

[etherealtruth]

5. Actually .... with the exception of the violent stranger rapist ....

there are those that don't comprehend that a "passed out" woman (or man) that may have had sex with them in the past CANNOT consent to sex.

Not that long ago, the concept of a man raping his wife was not present (at least in the legal system).

Rape has a long history of being a spoil of war.

I will always maintain that the act of victim blaming is to give us (those engaging in it/ we all do at one level or an other) a false sense of control over situations in which we really have no control.

[Buzz Clik]

6. You're right. I was referring exclusively to the violent crime.

As for the extremely drunk woman: some movement is being made. College campuses have included consensual sex while inebriated to fall under the definition of rape. This is viewed negatively by a lot of people, even those who get it. (Enforcement is difficult; providing proof is difficult; there is the fear of false accusations; etc -- some of which get back to blaming victims again.)