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Blame my modular thinking, I guess: That problems should be dealt with at their cause, preferably than being filtered along the way.
(I'm not being sarcastic at all).
I read in the Grauniad recently that female jurors are no different than men when it comes to this. Have to admit that surprised me at first.
If those measures will increase rightful convinction, then it's the way to go. But ultimately, convictions for rape will always remain low compared to a lot of other crimes so long as the legal system requires guilt to be proved - as Skive says, if it's one person's word against the other, that clearly isn't enough. Perhaps classes for girls which teach how best to avoid situations from which rape may result in the first place is an idea.
It's important to bear that in mind and I'll dig out the stats when I have a chance.
To an extent that because the police now take certain types of rape more seriously - twenty years ago if you'd gone in and reported your ex-boyfriend had raped you they'd have laughed you out of the station. Now they'll take it seriously and try and take it to court.
The problem is that most jurors are still of the same frame they were twenty years ago - if you knew the person who raped you it's not rape.
Whilst I'm not sure I'd fully agree with classes for boys on not to rape (smacks of all men are rapists) it does seem that the problem is only partly with the justice system, but more to do with our attitudes. Sure the system could probably do with some tweaks (specialist prosecutors has been mentioned), but the big change needed is in all of us - the public.
That's an idea as well, but I doubt it'd make much of a difference - if someone has the mindset of a rapist, and doesn't care who they hurt to get what they want, education won't prevent them. Nothing wrong with introducing that into education too though, it certainly wouldn't harm attempts to reduce rape. But education directed at girls pointing out dangerous situations - walking alone late at night, going somewhere private with a male without the intention of having sex, getting oblivious with drink etc - would definitely help. The reason why rape levels have increased since society became more sexually liberal is precisely because more women are doing these things.
And that's not to say it's women's fault, before some fool tries to twist what I'm saying.
Sure, since the 60s.
Check out the chapter on sex in Stephen Pinkers' The Blank Slate if you don't believe it - it's sourced in there, though i don't have to book to hand right now. It's pretty much evident if you think about the changes that have taken place over the last 50 years.
Certainly, that would be a factor but couldn't solely, or even largely, account for the increase. A change in attitudes and behaviour - women more independent, more open to casual sex, drunkeness etc - obviously increases the risk. I don't think anyone could deny that is a big factor. Educating girls to minimise the risk when going out is important imho.
Just looked it up, obviously I haven't read it but I've looked it up and from the reviews, I disagree with him.
What lesson can you teach a girl about going out will help her when attacked by her babysitter, her cousin or her boyfriend?
Alcohol is factored in a lot of rapes. In perfect world we shoudn't have to but teachings girls how to minimize there chances of being raped is a worthwile thing to do. I don't see how anybody can argue otherwise.
Sort yourself out.
However the problem with a training that takes a social perspective is that it tends to confirm the worst stereotypes, not challenge them. If people are taught that if you get drunk then you're more likely to be raped then there's a strong chance that they might also end up with the view that if someone did get drunk they deliberately put themselves in a situation where they could be raped. Then suddenly your back to a jury looking down on the victim and finding reasonable doubt.
But again this ignores that a great number of rapes are by people who are boyfriends, family members or known to the victim, not people targeting drunk women on a night out.
Nobody heres has said those that have been raped have failed to take precautions.
Nobody here is saying girls should have to take precautions. As Jim V said, that lead to the situation where some in some cases it coudl be said that girl didn't take enough care.
But there are ways to lessen the chance of being raped, and I don't think they should be ignored.
Why.
I don't walk through the toughest areas of town late at night on my own because obviously there's an increased risk. In a perfect world I should be able to, but this isn't a perfect world. Takign precautions against that type of thing doesn't mean I beleive that those who do get mugged in such circumstances have them selves anyway to blame.
I don't know. I just see it as logical.
Nobody has said any different.
I'm not just talking about girls who are jumped walking through the park either. There are ways for girs to lessent the risk, of becoming rape victims in social situations. Alcohol plays a part in a large proportion of rapes and I think that is a key issue. That's not to say I think women should drink less (I think we shoudl all drink less actually), just that not getting so wasted in certain situations coudl be an option.
Women shoudln't have to think about it, but if they want to there are ways off lessening the risk.
I dunno. I havn't pretended to know.
You seem to think that I beleive that in some cases balme lies with the victim.
That's very true, but further education about anti-misogynistic behaviour probably would help. Certainly the "sex sells" attitudes now normalises sexual behaviour and I believe it normalises it in an abusive and unequal way.
The way to solve this is by starting at the bottom. It's not acceptable to talk to a girl's chest, it's not acceptable to ping her bra straps, it's not acceptable to pinch her bottom in a nightclub or whistle at her in the street. Slap ASBOs on people who behave like that and things will change. People will stop seeing it as acceptable to treat women as sexual objects to be used and abused- and that will make it less likely for someone to believe that rape is acceptable.
The fact that a national magazine was allowed to print pictures of a topless 14-year-old girl without her knowledge and consent- and get away with it- goes to show how far we have to go.
Rapists don't grow on trees. They learn their behaviour. They learn it through seeing women treated badly and men getting away with it.
but girls who don't like it have no sense of humour and are uptight :rolleyes:
:yes:
Do I fuck.
I used a sarcastic and unhlepful comment to reply to an equally unhelpful and sarcastic comment.
You do it to. Sarcastic comments that imply that some of us in this discussion actually believe that, when nobody has said anything of the sort.