If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
let's blame the rape victim
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
This 'campaign' was highlighted on twitter earlier http://www.westmercia.police.uk/safenightout/
Thoughts?
Pretty disturbed by the whole thing. Pairing 'rape and sexual assault' with 'regretful sex' is not on. As is the tagline 'Don't let a drunken mistake be a a life-long hangover'. I didn't realise a bottle of WKD blue was capable of sexual assault. Silly me.
Thoughts?
Pretty disturbed by the whole thing. Pairing 'rape and sexual assault' with 'regretful sex' is not on. As is the tagline 'Don't let a drunken mistake be a a life-long hangover'. I didn't realise a bottle of WKD blue was capable of sexual assault. Silly me.
0
Comments
Also, the tagline you mention is addressed to a possible rapist (or at least abuser), not a possible victim. It basically says "You might think it's ok, but it's really not".
Also the tagline doesn't seem at all clear because both of the messages directed at would-be victim and would-be rapist carry the message 'Don't drink, because something could happen that you could regret'. Ultimately removing the responsability away from the rapist if they happen to be drunk. Oh and you might just lose your job *wag finger*.
You are also more likely to commit crime when drunk, and again advice to drink less is not bad advice.
Who is this advice aimed at?
Because if it's aimed at potential victims I find it upsetting because no means no. Whether I am drunk or not.
But if it's aimed at someone thinking of commiting a rape I find it offensive because being drunk is not a get out of jail card for raping someone.
edited to add: the advice you've suggested just then is clear but this campaign is simply bad. Because it isn't clear, the video perpetuates the idea that the victim has something to 'regret'. The word 'regret' is pretty sketchy. Am I supposed to 'regret' being raped? Is the rapist supposed to 'regret' raping somebody? Alcohol has a lot to answer for. So it seems
What woudl you have it say? Being drunk increase your chances of becoming a victim of crime significantly and anybody that's had a night on the town knows alcohol enables us to do things we might regret.
Advice to drink less in case you end up with minger, std or end up being sexually or physically assaulted is good advice for both men and women,
Or should the fact that the victim was drunk when they were raped be taken into account?
Should either of these affect the outcome of a court case?
Because this is what this particular police force are perpetuating.
Pretty surprised at the responses so far.
I agree it shouldn't come into court cases if you're asking that, but I don't see anything in the article that says the opposite.
I don't think anyone can argue that you're safer when you're sober.
And frankly, it does affect a court case. If you get really drunk your memory is affected, how can you be sure what was or was not said and done if you've got your entire weekly allowance of booze swimming in your veins.
Someone women might (for example) be under the impression that rape only occurs in the street etc and therefore might let her guard down in a club or somewhere else it could happen. That sort of information on the police website would go some way to making things safer for such women.
This is why rape convictions are low. I agree with the advice in theory like I keep stating. Being drunk makes you more vulnerable. I get that. But the That's the disturbing thing of this campaign is that it is unclear and that it seems to be directed at both victims and perpetuators. Like they are both equally reprehensible. Whether the victim or the rapist were drunk has no bearing on the crime being committed. Meaning: it's no defence to get drunk, rape someone and then claim that you werent in control.
GQ I completely get that. But the messages are so askew. They seem to be directed at both the victim AND the perpetrator.
I think it's sensible to teach your daughter not to drink to excess, watch her drink in a bar etc. But it's also sensible to teach sons (the majority of rapists are male) and daughters not to rape or sexually take advantage of anyone. Or yknow just fall back on 'you could lose your job' as this campaign does, weakly.
If that's it, I agree that it could and should have made a clearer distinction. I don't think it's that bad as it is, however.
What kind of message do you think
Did you know, if you drink excessively, you could leave yourself more vulnerable to regretful sex or even rape?
is sending to a woman who has been a victim of rape on a night out? That it's her fault. Cos that's the message I'd get from it
Rapists, when attacking a drunk woman, probably just picked an easy mark. They do it for power, as I understand it.
But that's not addressed to victims, it's addressed to people who aren't victims. How would you rephrase it so that it says the same thing but doesn't make someone who's already a victim think that?
btw, even if you did that it still wouldn't be your fault or theirs.
Fiend I agree with that analogy, especially the last part.
Rapists pick easy marks. Victims that are drunk, that have the audacity to walk around in jeans, that are married to them, that are standing in the corner of a street. Rape could happen to anyone and whilst I agree being intoxicated does make you more vulnerable to attack from anyone. Less concentration and potential for blame needs to be placed on the completely normal behaviours of victims, and more so on the person committing the rape.
This campaign in all it's ugliness and insensitivity fails to even distinguish between the victim and the rapist. Citing the main reason for the crime even being committed is because of alcohol consumption. And I disagree with that.
Nope. I'd do similar to GQ and tell my daughter that there are nasty people and stupid people in the world. I'd tell her to be careful when crossing a road, to never get into the car of a stranger, to be careful when drunk.
Not to avoid crossing roads, speaking to strangers ever and definitely not to get drunk because it could (it probably will...it might just be the final straw..) lead to rape.
It's not the behaviour of victims that needs policing, it's the perpetrators.
And now think about less good parents who don't tell these things to their children. Who'd tell them, then?
There is a difference between telling someone to be careful and suggesting that the main reason of rape is dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed by both the victim and the rapist. Rather than, let's say the rapist wanting to rape someone that day.
No way. Everyone has self control, drunk or not. It isn't like a sneeze, or suddenly barfing everywhere. It's having sex with someone against their will.
And the second part of the article (again, they're badly lumped together and shouldn't, but that's an entirely different issue than advice on drinking) is addressed to some people who could become rapists without thinking they are and, for that group, might make a difference. It's not applicable to everyone who can be a rapist nor is it supposed to be. I don't think there's anything you could say to someone who wants to rape someone that day (as opposed to someone who wants sex and thinks something isn't rape when it is) that could stop them.