Why Do People Blame Rape Victims? On The Vicious Cycle Of Victim-Blaming

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(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

Why Do People Blame Rape Victims? On The Vicious Cycle Of Victim-Blaming — And What We Can Do To Break It
SUZANNAH WEISS

March 31, 2015 LIFESTYLE

We live in a culture that not only blames sexual assault victims but also tells potential victims, especially women, that it is their duty to make sure they are not assaulted. From date-rape drug-detecting nail polish to difficult-to-remove underwear, the message is clear: We should be trying harder not to get raped. But as Abigail Burdess recently wrote, survivors of crimes like rape and assault frequently find themselves facing blame not only from others, but also from another, more personal source: Crime victims often blame themselves for what they've been through. But why? Why, in spite of the fact that the crime is always the fault of the person who committed it, does victim-blaming continue to happen — and from all sides?

When Burdess was writing case studies on torture victims at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture to secure grants from the United Nations, she noticed that rape victims often used blaming language towards themselves for the crimes committed against them. And these weren’t victims of atrocities like date rape that victim-blamers normally target. She writes in Standard Issue:

"I’ve heard it over and over: 'I woke up and he was on top of me and I begged him to stop but it was my fault because…' 'I was pulled into a ditch but it was my fault because…' 'I was held in a 4’ by 6’ cell and raped with a gun but it was my fault because…'"

Are these victims simply internalizing society’s judgments, or do they have more deep-seated reasons for blaming themselves? And why do others blame them in the first place?Burdess had the chance to ask these questions when she interviewed a clinical psychologist about a victim for whom she was advocating. The psychologist responded, "To stop blaming herself, she would have to face the power of the perpetrators over her. And she is not strong enough to face her powerlessness." In other words, what we cannot control, we cannot prevent — and rape victims want to believe they can avoid another assault. Similarly, people who have not been raped want to believe it couldn’t happen to them, so they come up with reasons why they are different from the victim.

Research confirms that people blame victims to convince themselves that they are in control of their destinies. Psychologist Melvin Lerner's experiments established the “just world fallacy” – our insistence that people get what they deserve. In one study, subjects observed someone solving problems and receiving electrical shocks when she messed up. Afterward, they criticized her appearance and personality and said she deserved the punishment. In another study, one of two men was awarded money allegedly at random, but participants still rated the person who got the money as smarter and more competent than the other one.

Further studies have found that people blame victims for everything from car accidents to domestic violence and that victims exhibit the same attitudes toward themselves. One study found that rape victims tend to blame their rapes on changeable behaviors rather than enduring personality traits, further perpetuating the illusion of control.

Still, the contributions of societal misogyny, stereotypes about male and female sexuality (“he can’t help it” and “she asked for it”), andmisconceptions about rape (“if she didn’t say ‘no,’ it’s her fault”) to victim-blaming should not be minimized. In fact, these problems contribute to rape itself — and addressing them would be more effective than worrying aboutwhat women are wearing.

Unlike policing victims’ behavior, educating people about rape can make lasting progress toward prevention. One study showed that after just one hour of education on sexual assault, men were less likely to believe myths about rape or consider being sexually coercive.

Once we recognize that sexual assault can happen to anyone, we can stop wondering what the victim did to deserve it and start wondering what allowed the perpetrator to go through with it. That’s the only way we can gain the control we crave and create the “just world” we want to believe in.

[kritikvernunft]

We should be trying harder not to get raped ...

Well, it is preferable to put the responsibility there where it could really make a difference. Men can loudly proclaim from the roofs that it is unlawful to rape women, but what difference would it make? If this really would help, then there simply would be no rapes.

[Serinity]

Wear more modest clothes, ban companies who sexualise women, ban channels who have women on "display", ban drugs, alcohol, night clubs, strip clubs, every avenue that can potentially lead to this.

Ban games that sexualise women, ban youtube channels that do, give a hefty fine on companies who make the clothes, or ban them.

Teach everyone morals. Society itself is its own contributor to an increase in rape. Doesn't give the rapist any excuse. But we could cut the things that can lead to this.

Have a cruel punishment on those who rape - execution? Public execution? by sword? Something that will deter anyone from doing it.

Until and unless we do not ban and stop the things that lead to rape, then it will continue to happen. Ban every indecent website, any website that promotes indecency.

And Allah knows best.

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(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

(Peace be upon you)

Well, it is preferable to put the responsibility there where it could really make a difference.

While I do believe that dressing modestly in some situations can prevent a woman sometimes from being vulnerable to an attack of an unknown predator, I still think we should be completely attaching the responsibility of the crime perpetrated on the perpetrator. There are reasons for me saying so:

(1) Because rape is a global phenomena, and women dressed in burqa (complete veil) in Muslim countries or countries with more conservative forms of dressing like India are still raped.

(2) In shariah (Islamic law), the sentence for men raping a woman is death. Wa'il ibn Hujr reported that a woman publicly identified a man who had raped her. The people caught the man and brought him to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He told the woman to go, that she was not to be blamed, and ordered that the man be put to death. In another case, during the time of Caliph Umar (may God be pleased with him), a woman brought her infant to the mosque and publicly spoke about the rape that had resulted in her pregnancy and birth of her illegitimate child. When confronted with the woman's accusation, the accused admitted the crime to the Caliph Umar who ordered his punishment. The woman was not punished.

(3) Victim-blaming is not from Islam; it is a cultural phenomena that has superseded itself on Islam to the effect that men in Muslim-majority countries blame women for being raped whether she was in a burqa (veil) or other accepted conservative cultural dress. The idea in some places is that a Muslim woman's loss of honor is her fault because she must have somehow (no matter how far-fetched) done something or been something that would have given the idea that she's not respectable and therefore deserving of rape.

Men can loudly proclaim from the roofs that it is unlawful to rape women, but what difference would it make? If this really would help, then there simply would be no rapes.

Male peers have more far influence on one another than the out-group (i.e. women) would have on them in regards to specific subjects like rape. I completely admit that the above article only provides one study to show that men were far less likely to retain myths about rape and be less sexually coercive. However, I also maintain that it would not be far-fetched to extrapolate from other studies that consistently show that education and information is the key to prevention in other topics of interest like drugs and STDs.

When men are alone with other men, how they talk about women, I'd imagine, makes a big difference in how other men in a group setting are comfortable with objectifying a woman. If they're talking about women in demeaning ways, other men in the group are probably likely to follow suit.

For example, the idea that women are far more likely to influence other women is the reason that I also think men should not extol the virtues of polygamy to women because women are likely to interpret men as having selfish motives for promoting it; whereas a woman extolling the virtues of polygamy is far more likely to make a difference in other women's perception of the institution because they're likely to see the woman so doing as part of the in-group who's telling them something from an unselfish motive as she too is a woman.

While you're right that all rape will not be stopped even with all-male peer-driven education programs, I do think they will make some difference to how men think and perceive rape and act with their own female partners; and with enough education and information, I'd imagine, over time it may make enough difference that we'll have likely less numerical count of men believing myths about rape or acting in ways that can be interpreted as sexually coercive.

(And peace be upon you)

[Serinity]

Victim-blaming is not from Islam; it is a cultural phenomena that has superseded itself on Islam to the effect that men in Muslim-majority countries blame women for being raped whether she was in a burqa (veil) or other accepted conservative cultural dress.

Are you saying that Burqa is a cultural dress?

It is common sense that the prepretator gets punished, and the victim does not. However, channels that openly advertise in one way or another, or incites sexual feelings, should be banned.
And Allah knows best.

[noraina]

Wa alaykum assalam,

Across all societies, victim-blaming concerning this seems to be more the norm than not, which, considered the horrific crime this is, is heart-breaking.

I do agree, that the way a woman dresses or conducts herself or where she chooses to go can help to an extent in preventing this, but still, the responsibility should not be entirely hers either...on both sides we need action.

Islam actually has really stringent laws on the punishment for the offender, this is not tolerated *at all* and so when in Muslim societies specifically you see how this is dealt with or approached in courts of law and the general community it's really disappointing.

And this culture of victim-blaming, rape and to a lesser extent sexual harassment is based really deep into the foundation of modern society. The media, the fashion industry, advertising, clubs, all of these things are more or less based upon objectifying women and debasing them...they do have a huge effect on people's mentality, to the extent even some women feel this is an 'inevitable' truth. Such things need to be cracked down on hard otherwise unfortunately nothing will change.

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(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful)

(Peace be upon you)

Burqa (complete veil) is a cultural garb but it also an Islamic garb. For example, I note that burqa (complete veil) is common in Afghanistan whereas the niqab (veil with eyes showing) is common to Saudi Arabia.

I note that in times of fitna, niqab becomes obligatory. However, niqab is not otherwise considered mandatory while hijab always is. I love and respect Muslim women who adopt due to piety burqa or niqab as a means of attaining closeness to God; however, I make no differentiation between our Muslim sisters because I know that we're all as Muslim women trying our best, even the one who hasn't yet adopted any kind of hijab for herself but is trying to do so for the sake of Allah. And we wish them all equal success.

Are you saying that Burqa is a cultural dress?

And Allah knows best.

(And peace be upon you)

[Serinity]

Society somehow 'allows' people or makes it seem acceptable for people to think of women as sex objects or commodities (quite disgusting, but it is true)

From advertisements, to games, to movies, to normal women dressing, in comparison to 40 years ago, like prostitutes. By saying this, I do not directly blame the women, rather it is society that has indoctrinated people to think that prostitute-like clothing is acceptable.

Lets not forget that Iblees wants mankind to go astray, and this means riding them of clothes, spreading disease, hypocrisy, degrading thoughts about women, etc. This is one of the plots of Iblees.

Allahu alam.

[Search]

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

I just wanted to clarify something of importance: While I do think women (Muslim or Non-Muslim) would be benefited from dressing modestly in spiritual and metaphysical terms alone in our society, I do not think women (Muslim or non-Muslim) who dressed immodestly can said to have EVER invited rape.

Women DO NOT invite rapists to rape them; that's just such an ill-judged notion that it seriously needs to die a quick death. No woman ever wakes up, no matter how provocatively males may perceive her as having dressed, and thinks, "Hey, today is a good day for a man to come rape me."

Rape is not only a physical act of penetration; it is a mental and spiritual violation of her persondhood and a negation of the sanctity of her humanity and her ownership of her own sexuality.

The reason I'm saying this is because I think we seem to be going in the pathways which I honestly want to avoid, which is shifting the responsibility of the rape to any degree on the woman. Crimes are always the fault of the criminal.

Would a woman be benefited in having dressed modestly? I haven't denied that.

Please note though that even in countries wherein we have the most conservative garbs imaginable, women are not faring any better and still becoming victims of rape. Therefore, I think attitudes about woman and rape are the culprit behind the phenomena of rape.

World Health Organization says in an article, "Recent global prevalence figures indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime." However, I believe these statistics are not inclusive of sexual assault crimes that go unreported all the time, which means that the statistics are probably much higher than indicated here.

[Serinity]

she may not want to be raped - but that is what she is sending of signals with the clothes she is wearing.

If I go out and wear cop-clothes. I just walk around, I do not want to be called for some police-work, I am not a cop! but I do have them clothes on.

However, I am not saying it is entirely her fault - it is not, for the rape - it is not. But anyone who wears provocative clothing is somehow contributing to it, or "supporting rape". Rather it is society as a whole that contribute to and "grows" the seeds and "place" for rape to take place.

Those who follow the crowd fall victim to this messed up atmosphere helping the growth of rape.

Allahu alam.

[ardianto]

she may not want to be raped - but that is what she is sending of signals with the clothes she is wearing.

Women who dressed sexily know that they can provoke the men's lust. So they are aware of their safety and avoid situation that can make them getting raped. Different than the women who dressed modestly. They are not aware, and accidentally they can fall into risky situation like walking in the dark alley that make them easily to be attacked by rapist.

There is a misunderstanding about statement "sexy dress increasing rape". It does not mean those victims being raped because they dressed sexily. But the sexy dress cause lust for some men who see it, and then they rape the victim who unaware who are not those sexy dressed women, but other women who usually dressed modestly.

One fact about rape. Mostly of victims dressed modestly.

[sister herb]

she may not want to be raped - but that is what she is sending of signals with the clothes she is wearing.

Also women wearing with burkas become raped - unfortunately. Remember that raping isn´t only a sexual act - much more it´s an act of power and desire of subordinate.

[MuslimInshallah]

Assalaamu alaikum,


Mmm... from what I know, rape has very little to do with a healthy sex drive, but a lot to do with enjoying hurting and humiliating another human being. While clothes that enhance a woman's sexual attractiveness may increase a man's lust, I don't think they would increase his desire to hurt and humiliate a woman. Really, this is just a red herring.

It seems to me that we need to look at the reasons why some men feel so weak and angry inside that they feel the need to hurt others. And then we need to look at what can be done about these reasons. It's more of a mental health issue, I think. Because I don't think that any man of emotionally sound mind would enjoy hurting someone. (smile) I am not talking about idle fantasies. People fantasize about all sorts of things that they would never actually do. (seriously) I am talking about knowingly hurting and humiliating someone, and getting a thrill from that.


May Allah, the Light, Help us to see.

[Serinity]

I see, so psychopaths rape people? They can be..... I mean, enjoying to kill and humiliate people is just wrong, very wrong.

It seems like it is more of a societal issue, than it is the victim's.. Although the clothing may and does play a role, no sane man would rape a woman because of a temptation.

And seeing that modest people get raped, and btw, I am not defending criminals with the excuse of "temptations". But it does play a factor.

reinstating the Death Penalty for rape - a Public Execution, may deter many criminals..............

I am still firm on that those who dress provocatively - are their own imprisoners.
What do you see as a factor that contributes towards rape?

[Born_Believer]

Wear more modest clothes, ban companies who sexualise women, ban channels who have women on "display", ban drugs, alcohol, night clubs, strip clubs, every avenue that can potentially lead to this.

Ban games that sexualise women, ban youtube channels that do, give a hefty fine on companies who make the clothes, or ban them.

Teach everyone morals. Society itself is its own contributor to an increase in rape. Doesn't give the rapist any excuse. But we could cut the things that can lead to this.

Have a cruel punishment on those who rape - execution? Public execution? by sword? Something that will deter anyone from doing it.

Until and unless we do not ban and stop the things that lead to rape, then it will continue to happen. Ban every indecent website, any website that promotes indecency.

And Allah knows best.

I like your posts a lot. They are straightforward and honest...and correct.

People want to pussyfoot around the issue but it's very simple, western society actively encourages sexualisation of women, in fact even little girls, it promotes alcohol as THE thing to do, it pushes drugs and partying as a must and so on and so forth. When the results of such societal norms rears it's ugly heads, we turn around and start spouting what is largely rubbish, such as , "women are blamed for rape". No they are not. Women, by many intelligent, caring individuals are simply told to protect themselves.

Let me give a bit of an example: in Japan, they started up a scheme where there were separate train carriages for women. It became such a success (there have been very high rates of men molesting women in Japan on public transport) that the scheme was rolled out across larger cities. When a politician in the UK suggesting such a scheme for London, I believe it was Corbyn, there were numerous "feminist" articles in newspapers, lambasting the move. Yet precautions like this are in place for womens own safety. It's not victim blaming, it's being smart and careful.

First tie your camel, then put your trust in Allah.

No, I'm not calling women camels lol I'm just saying, first take the necessary precautions, it's not blaming you, it's trying to help you.

[AnnaK]

Women who dressed sexily know that they can provoke the men's lust. So they are aware of their safety and avoid situation that can make them getting raped. Different than the women who dressed modestly. They are not aware, and accidentally they can fall into risky situation like walking in the dark alley that make them easily to be attacked by rapist.

There is a misunderstanding about statement "sexy dress increasing rape". It does not mean those victims being raped because they dressed sexily. But the sexy dress cause lust for some men who see it, and then they rape the victim who unaware who are not those sexy dressed women, but other women who usually dressed modestly.

One fact about rape. Mostly of victims dressed modestly.

Maybe we should teach men not to sexualize women rather than blame a woman for what she wears. This is talking about how wrong it is for a victim to dress a certain way, when really, we need to focus the conversation on men who commit these rapes.

Not only would these men be losing their virginity, but they would also certainly be breaking their chastity. I shouldn't have to say more on what impact this has to a Muslim in terms of the Day of Judgement. In terms of this life, we should make the punishment severe.

Also, men don't get raped by other men at the rates that women are raped my men because men are held in higher regard in almost every contemporary society. If we teach people to treat men and women equally, then women won't be objectified, and this horrid behavior would drastically diminish.

We need to criticize and critique the rapists; we NEVER should criticize the victim. No one is ever "asking for it" and we shouldn't contribute to rape culture by allowing ideas like that to continue.

[Zafran]

Maybe we should teach men not to sexualize women rather than blame a woman for what she wears. This is talking about how wrong it is for a victim to dress a certain way, when really, we need to focus the conversation on men who commit these rapes.

Not only would these men be losing their virginity, but they would also certainly be breaking their chastity. I shouldn't have to say more on what impact this has to a Muslim in terms of the Day of Judgement. In terms of this life, we should make the punishment severe.

Also, men don't get raped by other men at the rates that women are raped my men because men are held in higher regard in almost every contemporary society. If we teach people to treat men and women equally, then women won't be objectified, and this horrid behavior would drastically diminish.

We need to criticize and critique the rapists; we NEVER should criticize the victim. No one is ever "asking for it" and we shouldn't contribute to rape culture by allowing ideas like that to continue.

Rape is wrong full stop - whatever people are wearing, whoever they are. They should be punished.

However the way people dress is important because it can promote Zina/shamelessness and general indecent behavior from men and women. Men and women are responsible for upholding modest and upright behavior for the betterment of society. Without it people are doomed.

[Serinity]

you can't expect men to be robots when they see a provocative woman. Western society is prolly exploiting our weakness for women in sexualising them.

and the way one dressed, does sexualise or desexualise. Simple: reinstate the Death Penalty and ban every avenue that leads to rape, be it clothing etc.

Rape is wrong no matter what clothing you wear - however clothing does play an impact. The bigger problem is: sexualisation of women in Japan USA, almost everywhere.

Wherever it is, the environment plays a huge role. The way to, In shaa' Allah, reduce rape is:

Ban everything that promotes indecency in one shape or the other,
ban every website that do - because there are companies who get billions for having indecent videos and there are also even worse.

These people who run these website should be punished - cuz they are a contributor.

Reinstate the death penalty completely - public execution - old style.

[AnnaK]

you can't expect men to be robots when they see a provocative woman. Western society is prolly exploiting our weakness for women in sexualising them.

and the way one dressed, does sexualise or desexualise. Simple: reinstate the Death Penalty and ban every avenue that leads to rape, be it clothing etc.

Rape is wrong no matter what clothing you wear - however clothing does play an impact. The bigger problem is: sexualisation of women in Japan USA, almost everywhere.

Wherever it is, the environment plays a huge role. The way to, In shaa' Allah, reduce rape is:

Ban everything that promotes indecency in one shape or the other,
ban every website that do - because there are companies who get billions for having indecent videos and there are also even worse.

These people who run these website should be punished - cuz they are a contributor.

Reinstate the death penalty completely - public execution - old style.

Men in America aren't raping women at extreme rates, and the standard for women in the US is shorts that barely cover the butt, and shirts that don't cover the belly button. The "rape capital of the world" is India, and the women dress much more conservative there. The problem isn't the way women dress; the problem is the way men act, and the way men objectify women.

Saying men are pigs that can't control themselves is a terrible excuse.

[Serinity]

Men in America aren't raping women at extreme rates, and the standard for women in the US is shorts that barely cover the butt, and shirts that don't cover the belly button. The "rape capital of the world" is India, and the women dress much more conservative there. The problem isn't the way women dress; the problem is the way men act, and the way men objectify women.

Saying men are pigs that can't control themselves is a terrible excuse.

The disbelievers prolly masturbate instead to indecent websites - whatever it is - clothing plays an impact. If women dresses like prostitutes they are inviting uninvited rapists - and they are contributing to it.

USA are prolly advertising and sexualising. Therefore USA is a contributor

I hope every women gets every sin for dressing provocatively!
So no, dress plays a part.

don't be naive - Clothing plays a part the people dress walk tall interact - promote. All play an impact.

Amd I will say it again cuz it's true:

you can not expect men to be robots - call us perverts whatever - does not change - does not excuse rape - but society is prolly exploiting our weaknessew