Blame the Victim: Who is Responsible for Rape?

Kara Kulwicki of Feministe has published an article in The Guardian regarding disturbing survey results showing that over half of Londoners, including marginally more women than men, believe that in some circumstances a person should 'accept some responsibility' for being raped. This is a lot like saying that people who get their leg blown off by an unexploded land mine should 'accept some responsibility' for trying to farm in a war zone. In either situation, yes, there are precautions one can take to reduce the danger; and there is still a significant chance that it's going to happen anyway. The responsibility always lies 100% with the one who left the land mine; 100% with the one who chooses to commit rape. And it's a sad testament to how thoroughly rape apologetics has penetrated our culture.

Let's take a closer look at the statistics in question:

When asked what you would do if sexually assaulted or raped, worryingly not all Londoners would take action. Some would do nothing at all and keep it to themselves.

• One in twenty-five Londoners would do nothing and keep a sexual assault or rape to themselves (4%)
• Few people would go to an official port of call such as calling a helpline (15%), going to Havens (3%) or to a doctor (38%)
• Almost two thirds of Londoners would not even tell their partner (62%)

When asked specifically about reporting a sexual assault or rape to the police a significant

number of respondents were unsure:

• Over one in ten claimed they would "maybe" report it to the police (13%) and one in twenty admitted they didn't know (5%)
• One in fifty respondents were clear that they would not report a case of rape or sexual assault to the police (2%)

This begs the question; why? What is it that prevents people from letting the police know?

The main reasons are:

• I would be too embarrassed / ashamed of what had happened (55%)
• I would just want to forget it ever happened (41%)
• I wouldn't want to go to court (38%)
• I would be afraid of repercussions from the assailant (31%)
• I would be afraid that my family would find out (25%)
• Men are more likely than women to be too embarrassed (62% vs. 53%) and fear repercussions from the assaulter (34% vs. 29%)
• The 18 to 24 year olds are most likely to choose all reasons for not wanting to approach the police

Some open responses to this question were:

"The rape conviction rate here is the lowest in Europe. I wouldn't want to relive the experience in court, and have to be in the same room as my assaulter, considering the odds of getting a conviction are so low. Prison time is so low even if a conviction"

"I would be afraid of being demoralised by the police and society during court proceedings, why bother when they are just going to get off the charges anyway?"

"I am not sure whether I would be taken seriously and the follow through procedure would be thorough"

"My statement of truth being doubted"

"Rape victims rarely get justice"

[...]

The research has shown that Londoners are cynical about rape claims:

• Close to one in five respondents agree with the statement, "most claims of rape are probably not true" (18%)
• Men are almost twice as likely to take this viewpoint than women (27% vs. 14%)
• People who are heterosexual are less likely to agree that "most claims of rape are probably not true" (16% vs. 44% of people who are asexual)

People in London are not even sure what can count as rape or who should accept responsibility for it:

• Close to one in five respondents do not know whether in a committed relationship it is rape when a man makes their partner have sex when they donít want to (18%)
• One in ten do not believe it is rape when a man makes their partner have sex when they don't want to (10%)
• The older generation are most likely to agree that this situation is in fact rape (76% of 35 to 50 year olds vs. 68% of 18 to 24 year olds)

There are many situations in which some people feel that a person should take responsibility for being raped. Over half (56%) of those surveyed think that there are some circumstances where a person should accept responsibility. Of those people the circumstances are:

• Performing another sexual act on them (73%)
• Getting into bed with a person (66%)
• Drinking to excess / blackout (64%)
• Going back to theirs for a drink (29%)
• Dressing provocatively (28%)
• Dancing in a sexy way with a man at a night club or bar (22%)
• Acting flirtatiously (21%)
• Kissing them (14%)
• Accepting a drink and engaging in a conversation at a bar (13%)

Women are less forgiving than men. They are more likely to think that a person should accept responsibility when:

• Performing another sexual act on them (75% vs. 70%)
• Getting into bed with a person (71% vs. 57%)
• Going back to theirs for a drink (35% vs. 19%)
• Dressing provocatively (31% vs. 23%)
• Dancing in a sexy way with a man at a night club or bar (23% vs. 19%)
• Accepting a drink and engaging in a conversation at a bar (15% vs. 11%)

The younger generation, the 18 to 24 year olds are also most likely to think a person should accept responsibility in different scenarios. They are more likely to think that a person should accept responsibility when:

• Getting into bed with a person (68% vs. 63% of 25 to 34 year olds)
• Going back to theirs for a drink (39% vs. 22% of 35 to 50 year olds)
• Dressing provocatively (33% vs. 25% of 35 to 50 year olds)
• Dancing in a sexy way with a man at a night club or bar (29% vs. 18% of 35 to 50 year olds)
• Kissing them (23% vs. 8% of 35 to 50 year olds)
• Accepting a drink and engaging in a conversation at a bar (20% vs. 7% of 35 to 50 year olds)

This is classic rape culture in action. A significant proportion of rapes are not reported, because the disinterested and socially disenfranchising 'system' of state-sponsored justice does not take rape charges nearly as seriously as crimes against property or the social control mechanism; and because we are conditioned to be 'ashamed' of having been violated, to want to hide it, rather than get angry and hungry for the retribution we deserve. Despite the serious under-reporting of rapes, and the hell that trying to report and prosecute a rape puts the victim through, a lot of people are under the bizarrely counterfactual impression that false rape claims are rampant, probably because of the high-profile media treatment that such malicious claims get in contrast to the near-invisibility of real rape in the mainstream media. They excuse people who have been 'invited' to rape by bawdy behaviour or mixed signals; as if it removes all self control or even the ability to hear a denial of consent. And all of these opinions are significantly stronger among the younger generation, which means that rape-apologetic propaganda is getting more successful.