Rape: is the victim at fault?
A recent poll conducted by Amnesty International revealed that more than a third of Britons blame flirting women for being raped. A quarter of the population think that a woman wearing revealing clothing is completely or partially responsible when she is sexually assaulted. About one in twelve believe that a promiscuous woman is wholly responsible for being raped.
These polls were conducted in a western country. The west is considered to be a sexually liberated society and if these are the views held by people coming from a 'liberated' society, then why wonder about the archaic views of an eastern society.
Rape is basically defined as “intentional unlawful sex with a woman without her consent” but the views held by the majority of people disregard the phrase “without consent” and lay the blame entirely or partially on the victim herself.
One cannot give complete amnesty to a rape victim if she wears revealing clothes in a culture where it is completely out of place. In the West, a bikini-clad female would hardly be noticed on a beach, but if she struts around in similar clothing at a shopping mall or on a street, she is bound to attract attention. However, having said that, one must realise that rape is the act of a perverse man unable to control his primal urges; one who uses physical force or other forms of coercion to satisfy his lust. This barbaric act can by no stretch of the imagination be considered the fault of the victim.
A simple analogy would be to consider a case of any wealthy person who does not take proper precautions. In the absence of security guards, his house gets robbed. We could blame him for being careless in not keeping his doors locked, or failing to take appropriate security measures, but this in no way minimises or shifts the blame from the real culprit i.e. the robbers. Unless an intention or consent on the part of a victim is conspicuous, blame can only be attached to the extent of recklessness, carelessness or imprudence -- certainly not for the crime committed. Though it is in the wealthy person’s interest not to tempt the robbers by a flagrant display of wealth, in an ideal society, one would like to exert the privilege of some freedom, provided it does not encroach upon anyone else’s boundaries.
Similarly, there is a lot of difference in opinion between what entails a proper dress code and what does not. Everyone should have the freedom to dress the way they feel like, as long as they are not breaking the law of the land. Furthermore, it is not an unusual desire for people to want to appear attractive. Here again, a large variety of opinions exist about what constitutes appearing attractive. Some people may seem to have gone overboard in trying to look attractive, but they may feel perfectly at ease with their attire. Just as it is not construed a crime to display one’s wealth animatedly, similarly wishing to appear attractive is perfectly normal.
Coming to the issue of promiscuity, a similar analogy can be applied in this way: if someone is giving away his wealth by choice to someone, that doesn't justify the robbers stealing from him. The robbers would still be guilty of robbery. Similarly if a promiscuous woman gets close to a few men of her own choice, it still wouldn't justify a rapist forcing himself on her. The character of a ‘loose’ woman still doesn’t justify a horrifying crime such as rape, because rape is the worst form of violence against any woman.
The next time we point fingers at the rape victim, we should ask ourselves some questions and then determine who is at fault. Ask yourself, who committed the crime? Was the victim the perpetrator of this crime? Is the desire to look nice, bad enough to bear blame for the barbaric act of rape? Does a rape victim ever wish to get raped? Is there any psychological commonality between the mind of a rape victim and the rapist?
If the answer to any of these questions indicate that the victim is to be blamed partially or completely then one may find some justification in still holding on to those male-chauvinistic views, which lay the blame of everything on a woman and her character and relieve a man of any responsibility, no matter what the nature of the crime may be. To put the blame of rape on a victim is the height of injustice to the victim – a female who has suffered extreme pain and brutality at the hands of a sick person. No matter how promiscuous a female is, she would never want to be terrorised in a manner that would subject her body to such extreme violation.
Only a rape victim knows the torment that she suffers during the rape and afterwards. A rape victim is traumatised forever, and the scars are etched forever. Do not for a second think that a rape victim has instigated such a crime because the amount of pain that she has to suffer for the rest of her life is unimaginable.
If you are a female, imagine how would you feel if this happened to you? If you are a male, imagine if it were your mother, sister, wife or daughter who was a rape victim – would you still put the blame on her? The reason why so many young girls and females do not come out and report such a horrible crime is due to the fear of being disgraced. They always have the fear that people would not believe them, or they would label them as being ‘fast’. Do not judge the victim. Believe in her, trust in her, share her grief, and try to mitigate her sorrows. She deserves all the support that she can get because it is not easy to survive such a vicious experience and stay sane. Treat the rape victim with respect, not with antipathy.
These polls were conducted in a western country. The west is considered to be a sexually liberated society and if these are the views held by people coming from a 'liberated' society, then why wonder about the archaic views of an eastern society.
Rape is basically defined as “intentional unlawful sex with a woman without her consent” but the views held by the majority of people disregard the phrase “without consent” and lay the blame entirely or partially on the victim herself.
One cannot give complete amnesty to a rape victim if she wears revealing clothes in a culture where it is completely out of place. In the West, a bikini-clad female would hardly be noticed on a beach, but if she struts around in similar clothing at a shopping mall or on a street, she is bound to attract attention. However, having said that, one must realise that rape is the act of a perverse man unable to control his primal urges; one who uses physical force or other forms of coercion to satisfy his lust. This barbaric act can by no stretch of the imagination be considered the fault of the victim.
A simple analogy would be to consider a case of any wealthy person who does not take proper precautions. In the absence of security guards, his house gets robbed. We could blame him for being careless in not keeping his doors locked, or failing to take appropriate security measures, but this in no way minimises or shifts the blame from the real culprit i.e. the robbers. Unless an intention or consent on the part of a victim is conspicuous, blame can only be attached to the extent of recklessness, carelessness or imprudence -- certainly not for the crime committed. Though it is in the wealthy person’s interest not to tempt the robbers by a flagrant display of wealth, in an ideal society, one would like to exert the privilege of some freedom, provided it does not encroach upon anyone else’s boundaries.
Similarly, there is a lot of difference in opinion between what entails a proper dress code and what does not. Everyone should have the freedom to dress the way they feel like, as long as they are not breaking the law of the land. Furthermore, it is not an unusual desire for people to want to appear attractive. Here again, a large variety of opinions exist about what constitutes appearing attractive. Some people may seem to have gone overboard in trying to look attractive, but they may feel perfectly at ease with their attire. Just as it is not construed a crime to display one’s wealth animatedly, similarly wishing to appear attractive is perfectly normal.
Coming to the issue of promiscuity, a similar analogy can be applied in this way: if someone is giving away his wealth by choice to someone, that doesn't justify the robbers stealing from him. The robbers would still be guilty of robbery. Similarly if a promiscuous woman gets close to a few men of her own choice, it still wouldn't justify a rapist forcing himself on her. The character of a ‘loose’ woman still doesn’t justify a horrifying crime such as rape, because rape is the worst form of violence against any woman.
The next time we point fingers at the rape victim, we should ask ourselves some questions and then determine who is at fault. Ask yourself, who committed the crime? Was the victim the perpetrator of this crime? Is the desire to look nice, bad enough to bear blame for the barbaric act of rape? Does a rape victim ever wish to get raped? Is there any psychological commonality between the mind of a rape victim and the rapist?
If the answer to any of these questions indicate that the victim is to be blamed partially or completely then one may find some justification in still holding on to those male-chauvinistic views, which lay the blame of everything on a woman and her character and relieve a man of any responsibility, no matter what the nature of the crime may be. To put the blame of rape on a victim is the height of injustice to the victim – a female who has suffered extreme pain and brutality at the hands of a sick person. No matter how promiscuous a female is, she would never want to be terrorised in a manner that would subject her body to such extreme violation.
Only a rape victim knows the torment that she suffers during the rape and afterwards. A rape victim is traumatised forever, and the scars are etched forever. Do not for a second think that a rape victim has instigated such a crime because the amount of pain that she has to suffer for the rest of her life is unimaginable.
If you are a female, imagine how would you feel if this happened to you? If you are a male, imagine if it were your mother, sister, wife or daughter who was a rape victim – would you still put the blame on her? The reason why so many young girls and females do not come out and report such a horrible crime is due to the fear of being disgraced. They always have the fear that people would not believe them, or they would label them as being ‘fast’. Do not judge the victim. Believe in her, trust in her, share her grief, and try to mitigate her sorrows. She deserves all the support that she can get because it is not easy to survive such a vicious experience and stay sane. Treat the rape victim with respect, not with antipathy.
Comments
We cannot deny the influence of society on one's actions, and we must look to changes in current values and the current system in order to eliminate this most barbaric of crimes.