In today’s “Damn dirty sluts just keep on asking for it!” news, the Cairns police have blamed drunk women for bringing on their own “sex attacks”. (Hint: Rape is not “sex”.) And somehow, these attacks magically materialise out of thin air, in the presence of only ethanol vapour and a vagina.
The Cairns Post reports:
POLICE say sex attacks in the CBD could be reduced if revellers took care not to drink too much and not wander off with people they have just met.
Some victims of sex crimes were so drunk they could not remember what had happened.
“During investigations, it has become apparent that many of the victims have been under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substance at the time of the offence and do not recall the act itself or the circumstances surrounding their complaint,” Sen-Constable Cary Coolican said.
“While we respect the individual’s right to consume alcohol, we would be encouraging people to make responsible choices regarding who they drink with and the quantity that is consumed.”
She said reports of sexual assaults had increased after police encouraged victims to report the crimes.
Police have strongly urged revellers to take responsibility for their own safety while partying in the city.
Apparently no actual rapists are involved in these rapes. Just “girls” who get themselves into trouble, and who only have themselves to blame. Just like the ALAC ad that the Kiwi femibloggers have been talking about.
When will the police strongly encourage men to take responsibility for their own actions?
“Gentlemen, I urge you to take responsibilty for the fact that you have raped someone. You have committed rape.”
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Well, I’m sure those women feel real happy that they were encouraged to report. And the reports of sexual assault mysteriously start going back down . . .
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Can’t this be read as the police trying to help young women – to warn them of the obvious dangers of getting drunk and wandering off alone with men they don’t know?
You have read the story as an example of shifting blame, but it could as easily be read as an effort to prevent crime against women.
I’m not sure that rape will be reduced by appealing to the good conscience of rapists. And if police aren’t allowed to warn women of the dangers of crime, then who will? Are schools supposed to do it? Or sites like this one?
It’s not the case that all young people start their adult life with a hard-headed worldliness to keep them from harm. Some are naive and overly trusting (and I’m referring to both men and women here). It helps if the culture you live in steers you in right direction until you’ve accumulated some life experience of your own.
Mark, I have no interest in debating institutionalised victim-blaming with you. Go away.
Really.
Argh, this is so infuriating. The attitude of the police is truly worrying, but what really pisses me off is the fact that the Cairns Post is reporting this crap, further denigrating the already woeful role of journalism. Where’s the questioning, the investigation into why police are ignoring the real problem of rape and instead telling women to “take responsibility”?
@ Cara: Exactly my thoughts.
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On a related note, there was an article in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald titled, Police Warning to Teenage Girls over Serial Rapist Fear. The short of it is, there have been a few rapes and attempted rapes at isolated bus stops in Western Sydney, occuring during daylight hours, targeting young women aged between 16 and 19, so these young women are being told to avoid isolated bus stops.
I think this really shows up the lie of the whole “we’re just concerned about the women” approach. So many young women rely on public transport to get to work, to get to school or uni, to get to after school activities– in short, they rely on public transport to live a full and happy life. What is a young woman supposed to do if an isolated bus stop is her only option?
My thoughts are that if police were truly concerned about women, they would frame their statements in terms that acknowledge that women have just as much right to use bus stops (or drink alcohol, or whatever else it might be) as men do– for instance, they could say “We are gravely concerned that this rapist is making young women feel unsafe in public spaces like bus stops, although they have a perfect right to be there; we will make it a priority to ensure that this man does as little as possible to curb their basic liberties.” It’s not hard.
And of course, that’s not even addressing the issue of faulty logic that’s going on here: if we say that women should avoid the spaces in which we are most likely to be raped, then none of us should ever go home, or into anyone else’s home.
It’s the faulty logic that gets me too. Yes, for women outside the home being in an atmosphere where lots of drinking is happening is definitely higher risk than other social settings. But it’s not that much higher risk really, just easier to say “if she wasn’t drunk he wouldn’t have attacked such an easy victim”.
It’s still not as high a level of risk as many women experience through simply having had the misfortune to end up cohabiting with a man who is a rapist, and who waited until his partner was financially dependent and emotionally manipulated before he began the raping.
It’s certainly nowhere near the level of risk of women simply dating, a depressingly high proportion of whom find themselves at least once being manipulated by a man through a period of dating until they can be isolated, intimidated and coerced into involuntary sexual intercourse.
… I think I’ve finally lost the ability to discuss this bollocks rationally.
Thus, ARGHGODWHYTHESTUPIDITBURNSUSPRECIOUS. One more bloody “I’m well-meaning, honest, I just don’t get why the notion that victims’ behaviour totally, like, plays a role in their victimization at the hands of another person who chooses to rape them is so totally offensive to rational people!” and I may starting advocating radical lesbian separatism. I’M A BLOGGER ON THE EDGE!
QoT, I don’t see what’s inherently irrational about positing lesbian separatism as being one possible survival strategy in this world.
Nor would it be difficult to talk about a violent criminal in the area and everyone should be aware of their surroundings.
There just seems to be this constant need to make sure that no men’s feelings are hurt in discussion things like rape and abuse. Even I have to remind myself there’s nothing wrong in the sentence “a man raped a woman today”. It’s taken me a year of practicing that before it stopped sounding like an accusation – something that “a man robbed a bank today” never did. The way we talk is all about taking “a man” out of the picture because gosh – we’d hate for all men to be tarred with the same brush, right?
Nor would it be difficult to talk about a violent criminal in the area and everyone should be aware of their surroundings.
That’s true, although as a hate crime targeted at sending a message to women, I do think it’s important to acknowledge that this rapist (or any rapist) is attempting to prevent women in particular from feeling secure in public spaces. Still, it would be good if there was something along the lines of requesting that men do their best to prevent this sort of behaviour in other men, particularly given that in a patriarchal society, men are more likely to listen to other men than they are to women.
There just seems to be this constant need to make sure that no men’s feelings are hurt in discussion things like rape and abuse.
WORD (on the whole paragraph, but I didn’t want to quote the whole thing). One thing that I was planning to say earlier but forgot, is, can you imagine the outcry if the police instead said something like “Men are more likely to rape women when they are in parks and under the influence of alcohol, therefore we urge all men to avoid alcohol and public spaces” or “Given that rape (and particularly stranger rape) is almost always committed by men, we urge all men to avoid using isolated bus stops until women can feel safe again.” The outcry would be furious– they’d say we were punishing all men for the actions of a few, and suggesting that all men are rapists. But when it’s women being told not to go somewhere, it’s just “common sense”– (almost) no one is concerned that we’re punishing all women for the actions of a few rapists, and (almost) no one is concerned that we’re suggesting that all women are responsible for whether or not a rape occurs.
Beppie, I love your re-framing work!