and men shouldnt have to worry that if they go outside of their homes they will be confronted with sights of semi-naked women whose presence will make them 'uncomfortable' to say the least.
Are you suggesting that a naturaul instinct of a man when confronted by the sight of a semi-naked woman is to rape her? I am a man and I definitly do not have the urge to rape people because I cannot control myself when seeing an attractive lady.
One rape myth that disqualifies potential rapists is the idea of an uncontrollable male sexual drive. This myth serves to justify the sexual, physical, and emotional domination of the male offender over his victim by naturalizing his coercive behavior. By categorizing male sexuality as not active but reactive, this myth of uncontrollable male sexuality absolves the rapist from responsibility for his actions and blames the victim for instigating such behavior. Akin to the idea that "boys will be boys," we accept that men reach a certain point of sexual arousal at which point they lose mental control of their physical desire. This myth essentializes men, naturalizes rape, and heaps the burden of sexual morality and responsibility, for both genders, on women. In contrast, a stereotype used to qualify offenders is the rapist as serial criminal or clinically insane.
Recently I was yet again appalled at media representations of rape, when a
local TV network accounted for the cause of sexual violence with this
statement: "Women walking at night should not wear mini skirts in order to
avoid rape".
This advice was not the result of research and evidence, but of moralistic
judgements ironically aimed at female victims. To the viewers the message
that they obtain from this is that rape happens only to women wearing
seductive clothing and that the men who commit rape are unable to control
their desires as a result. Hence, rapists are the innocent targets of
seduction by "bad" women who lure otherwise good law-abiding citizens into
committing a sexual offence.
Research into rape refutes that there is a necessary cause-effect relationship between seductive clothing and sexual attack. Rather, experts argue that this sort of explanation is merely a
myth established to justify female oppression through the control of women's behavior.
Although there can be no qualified data to support such an explanation of
"cause", the reports of rape in the media continue to reinforce ignorant
attitudes. The Jakarta Post reported that a man broke into a woman's house
just after she had finished taking a bath. The man raped her. The Post felt
it necessary to end the report by commenting that the woman was wearing no underwear under her sarong.
As the inclusion of such information was irrelevant, what must the readership
think? A woman was raped; she was improperly dressed. Are we to believe that the woman was at fault? There are strong implications here and whether this was intentional or not, the media must accept more responsibility for the
role it has in shaping social attitudes.
To target a woman as the guilty party in her own rape has dangerous
consequences, because as long as the "cause" is accepted by society as being female seduction, then victims will be reluctant to come forward. They will fear that instead of attaining legal and social justice, they will instead
become the object of social condemnation, and accusations that they had
somehow "invited" the rape. The knock on effect can only lead to a greater
sense of impunity for sex offenders, and instead of preventing rape, may well
encourage it.
Should they choose to, it is possible for members of the media to make a
positive contribution toward rape prevention, by first challenging their own
preconceived ideas, and the way in which they report such incidents. They can begin by excluding suggestive "victim-blaming" remarks. As for the readership, we should all take a more active role in rejecting or
opposing damaging reports which promote prejudice or sexual violence. Perhaps we should consider the following advice as an alternative to that offered above: Women of any description should monitor the work of the media in order to prevent rape, because we are all potential victims, and only through actively working to change attitudes can we create a social environment in which women are encouraged to seek justice.
