Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Ignorance Leads to Apathy and Victim Blaming and Shaming

I work part time at a call centre and was recently offended by and put off when the man who I was interviewing said something along the lines that sexual assault is a problem when the woman wears "certain apparel." I know this man was 86 or so, but the fact that this belief still exists is disturbing and puts blame on the victim of the violent crime rather than the perpetrator. This attitude in fact exonerates the offender! No one deserves to be raped because they wore a short skirt! Just like no one deserves to be beaten up or discriminated against because they are transgendered or have their mosque blown up because they are Muslim. They weren't asking for it! Crime is crime and is NEVER a victim's fault! Attitudes like this dissuade victims from coming forward. Ignorant and incompotent Judge Robin Campbell comes to mind when he asked a victim in a rape case why she couldn't "just keep her knees together" (http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/12/world/robin-camp-rape-comments-trnd/).The fact that assholes like this work in the court system is beyond me! Mind you, there are jerks (some women included!) who still think like this in every walk of life. Continued education is important to teach people about the importance of consent, that victims are never to blame, and to encourage victims to report crime and not to fear judgement, shame, or condemnation. Being raped is one of the worst things that could ever happen to a woman! Why should she be made to feel worse than she already does?! More must be done to fight against and hopefully dissipate the rape culture that is still so prevalent in our society. It's time we worked together as a society rather than against each other to make a better place for ourselves and our children!

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