In light of Chrissy Hynde's comments about rape victims and that f they "dress provocatively" or they're "drunk" then it's their fault if they are raped or sexually assaulted. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Blaming victims of sexual assault for their actions before the assault took place i.e. drinking alcohol is common practice. The victim is rarely believed in a court of law if they had been drinking because many defence lawyers will use that as an excuse - that the victim is most likely ashamed of having had sex while drunk and their testimonies are sometimes shaky as opposed to the perpetrator's.
Another incident where people love to blame the victim of sexual assault is when it comes down to what the victim was wearing - especially if the victim was, as Chrissy Hynde put it, "dressed provocatively" and an ide is passed and believed that the victim was 'asking for it' - that they were asking to be raped!
NO ONE IS ASKING TO BE RAPED OR SEXUALLY ASSAULTED.
No one ever puts on a low cut top or short/short skirt thinking "I'm definitely asking to be raped today!" Do you know why? Because no one should ever have to think like that! Why do we insist on judging the victim's actions previously, instead of judging - and condemning - the rapist?! They are the one(s) who committed the crime and surely we should be asking ourselves "why did they rape?" instead of "well they were asking for it in those clothes". It's absurd! We would never say to a victim of a mugging "you shouldn't have had your wallet on you" - because we view mugging as a CRIME and blaming the victim is WRONG. So why do we do that with victims of sexual assault and rape? It causes severe emotional and psychological trauma as well as physical trauma to the victims so why don't we treat it seriously?
Chrissy Hynde's comments were just the latest in a society full of rape culture and victim blaming. It's time to stop.
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