Are there any situations in which the victim is more responsible for the rape than the rapist? Explain your response.

• Post your response to the discussion board by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET
• Respond to two other students’ postings by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET
• This is a graded discussion worth 25 points
• Initial post 300 words, reply posts 200 words each

Katelynn’s Response:

In today’s culture, “slut shaming” and “victim blaming” are common. Most people will blame the victim, especially in the case of rape, due to reasons such as the way they were dressed, level of intoxication, or time and place the rape took place. They usually justify the occurrence of the rape to the fault of the victim, often to avoid admitting there is a serious problem (the rapists). They often ignore the fact that most people are raped by family members or the people close to them. They also ignore the cases where the victims can NOT be blamed, such as children. Children who are raped cannot be used to attach these “justifiable reasons” to be raped, so this information is merely excluded. The fact is, nothing anyone does is a justifiable reason to suggest that the victim is responsible for being raped.

When someone promotes changing others behavior (mostly women) to “prevent” rape, they are simply saying “make sure he rapes the other girl”. No matter how careful people are, there will always be a case where someone is more susceptible to becoming a victim. Instead of focusing on changing the obscure behaviors that “cause” people to become victims of rape, the actual behavior of the rapist should be being changed.

One of my favorite signs I’ve seen was something along the lines of “my consent to cosplay does not give you consent to touch”. This and many other sayings like it encourage safety for all women and men, no matter how they are dressed or behaving. At cosplay events, women are often dressed as “slutty” characters to make how these characters are represented in games/movies etc. They are not wearing signs giving permission to be touched/harassed/raped. It is important to change the idea that if even if someone were completely naked, it is an invitation to touch them.

Rape culture is highly pervasive in today’s society. I’ve known many people, including many women in my life, to be part of the slut and victim shaming. As a very young child, I was starting to believe that too. Due to this idea, I never wore skirts or dresses and almost always had on long sleeves or a jacket, never wearing tank tops or sleeveless shirts. It wasn’t until middle school when I watched the effects of being a victim on my best friend after she had been raped that I realized it had nothing to do with the way she dressed, because she was just a child and it still happened. I’ve started many an argument in my family whenever we walk through a college town and they begin to slut shame the way the girls are dressed, stating bluntly “that’s how you get raped.” It is never the victim’s fault, no matter what. There is never a situation that would make it the victim’s responsibility.

Sara’s Response:

The question of “Are there any situations in which the victim is more responsible for a rape than the rapist” is an easy one. The firm and absolute answer is no. The definition of victim is “One who is harmed by another, especially by someone committing a criminal or unlawful act” (www.freedictionary.com). A victim does not ask for or choose to be a victim. The only one that has a choice in the matter is the person committing the crime.

There is a stigma out there that, surprisingly, a lot of people believe. It is that some woman who are raped put themselves in that situation, so they are to be partially blamed. Some people think that if a woman is drunk and flirting with a man then she is to blame if she gets raped. If a woman dresses provocatively, then she is to blame if she gets raped. These theories are, of course, not true. Two wrongs do not make a right and if it is not fully consensual than it is not right or legal!

One reason some psychologists believe people like to victim blame is due to what is called the Just World Hypothesis. “It’s this idea that people deserve what happens to them. There’s just a really strong need to believe that we all deserve our outcomes and consequences.” (Hamby, n.d.). In other words, it is when people need to believe that the world is a fair place and that you get what you deserve. Another reason people victim blame may be as sort of a coping mechanism. It helps them believe that something like a rape couldn’t happen to them because they are more careful, or they dress modestly.

I think it is important as a society to know and be fully aware that what happens to a victim, that makes them a victim in the first place, is not their fault and should not be treated as if it were. People that commit acts, such as rape, need to be held fully accountable for their actions.

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