STOP Blaming Rape Victims: Don't Women Have Equal Rights?

Disturbed. Haunted. Mind-boggled. I'm not sure if these words do justice to what I am truly feeling at this moment. My usual-random Googling led me to some truly irking, annoying information regarding rape. I dont need to further clarify rape rates in the world. Reading those numbers don't haunt you in your sleep, but reading victims' stories does. When you hear the word rape, what comes to mind? Men raping women, or the other way around? How often do we hear men claiming a sexual assault? How many men have pressed charges over being raped by women? Ponder on these for a moment before finally agreeing with me: Women are the main victims of sexual assaults.

What perturbed me to write this piece of article was when I read some online journals that state that women/victims are "partially to be blamed for the rape case" or "equally guilty as perpetrators of rape" or "the main trigger for their own rape case". I want to get up from my bed and hit these people on the face with an axe. But before I do that, here are some statements (some re-written from lack of references) from victim-blamers on why they believe women are to be blamed for their own rape case:

1. Those women were out late at night when they knew they should have been tucked away in bed.
2. What kind of women wear short skirts?
3. That woman must not have looked respectable. Men would not want to rape respectable women.
4. That woman must have been out drinking and provoked the rape.
5. She was out with a man late at night, which shows her personality.

I say: GO TO HELL, HYPOCRITES!

So, women who stay out late should be raped? Women who work night shifts or dual jobs deserve to be stripped off her dignity? Women who enjoy a late-night movie once in a while call out to being raped? Is this the norm that we are sending off by coming home a little later that usual?

Men are able to walk out the street without covering their upper body. You don't see women jumping their guns on to them. Can't women be out in public, wearing what she wants, without calling out to rapists? isn't this a free world? We cant stop you from thinking "what on earth is she wearing" but we should be able to stop you from doing the despicable.

"Men would not want to rape respectable women". Really? this is what they say? So, rapists will select indecent-looking women to rape? They will conduct a sampling method to separate trashy and classy looking ones? Does this mean that when their mothers and sisters look trashy, they will also be raped by their own family members? Does this mean that all women who have been raped must have looked trashy at the time of rape? I wont even bother starting on this one.

Drinking. I do not support acts on drunken stupor but I am not the only women in the world. Men go out to drink and come home fine and at most, suffer a hangover. While women should live with the fear of being assaulted? Where is the fairness?

Being out late at night with a man shows women's personality? Since when does the 12-hour clock show women's integrity? Aren't women allowed to socially interact with men? Dont we work with men, go to school with men, live with men? Do we need to stay off men in order to "protect our personality"? So when male friends ask out their female friends for a simple coffee chat, that woman should automatically be branded as one who deserves to be raped?


STOP BLAMING THE VICTIM. No woman wants to be sexually assaulted. No parent lets their daughters out, hoping to find them dishevelled on the road. It sinks victims hearts when they are questioned with "who were you with?", "what were you wearing?", "were you drunk?". Shouldn't the questioning be directed to the assaulters, instead of the victims, who are often the receiving end of a group-activity?

This women-blaming activist is the deep-seated mentality which creates a culture and traditions that are oppressive to women. Gruesome crimes against women have become rampant and courts cannot turn a blind eye to the need to send a strong deterrent message to the perpetrators.

Women don't cause rapes. Rapists do.

Together, we can make a difference. Share this and help spread the message to STOP BLAMING RAPE VICTIMS.