Patrick Elliott <kag### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> They 
> are just not so violently enforced, but, never the less, when, say.. a 
> rape happens, the first thing trotted out is a long list of excuses 
> about what she wore, did, thought, where she was, what she did/didn't 
> say, etc. And, worse, juries fall for that crap, including other women.

Sure, some people will use those things as excuses. However, I wouldn't
say it's the point.

The fact is, the risk of being raped can be affected by one's behavior
in the exact same way as the risk being mugged can be. If, for example,
a certain part of the city is known for the amount of crime, and you just
carelessly walk there alone in nice expensive clothes, don't be surprised
if you get mugged with a higher probability than if you were walking in
a busy mall, for instance. The fact is, you *can* affect the risks with
your actions.

Asking women questions about what they were doing, what they were wearing,
and where they had been can give us valuable information about certain
patterns that could ostensibly increase the risk of being raped. If,
for example, 90% of women who are raped in a certain city have certain
characteristics and/or were in a certain part of the city, we can deduce
that there's something common to these cases.

Telling a woman "you can decrease the risk of being raped by doing this"
is not victim blaming. It's pragmatism. It's no different from saying
things like "you should lock your doors before leaving home".

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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