Before the actual topic discussion, we wanted to take a chance to let you all know what's going on in the center in the upcoming weeks. We are gearing up for several events, including a poetry slam (date is still TBA but it's going to be awesome!) and right now...meaning RIGHT NOW, we are accepting art forms celebrating the "blossoming of women." Submissions can include poetry, video, photography, paintings, anything! They will be reviewed by a committee and then presented around the center. So...if you're feeling particularly artsy or creative, you should totally thing about submitting something! We're accepting art through Friday, March 18th.
Now, to the topic: victim blaming. Before we get to the actual topic, we should probably give a slight description of what "victim blaming" actually is. For our purposes, victim blaming is basically what it sounds like: blaming the victim of an assault (often a sexual assault) for what happened to them. It's a growing problem not only in the media, but in basic conversation. In everyday conversations, people are not shocked when women wearing short skirts are harassed, and some will even comment that the women should not have been wearing such short skirts. If a man is taken advantage of at a party (which is commonly scoffed at -- a topic we will also discuss at some point), the first question is often "We're they intoxicated?" In these cases, the first point of discussion is not the harassment or assault, but what the victim must have done to cause the harassment or assault. And victim blaming is still present not only in our everyday conversations, but in the media that affects society's views -- whether we like it or not.
A recent example of this victim blaming can be found here, when the NY Times seems to blaming a 12-year-old girl for being gang raped by men varying in age from high school aged to late 20s. The article cites the fact that she wore make-up and dressed "older than she was," making it sound almost as if she hadn't worn make-up or dressed older, than she wouldn't have gotten sexually assaulted, and therefore her fate is somewhat her fault. It also cites that she hung out with the older boys a lot, insinuating that had she just hung out with a better group, this wouldn't have happened to her in theory.
The problem with this kind of thinking is that instead of focusing on the assault, it's focusing on the victim in a negative way. Obviously, they could have done something to keep themselves from being assaulted, or so this type of behaviour seems to insinuate. And this major media outlet is just keeping this thinking alive and on-going. Response to this specific example of victim blaming can be found in the form of a petition to call the NY Times to apologize to the girl. But how should we respond to victim blaming in general? A few things could include:
- Explain why this line of thinking is hurtful to women (always in a a respectful and polite manner)
- Ask them why they think this way
- Provide examples to show why this might be hurtful
What other ways can we handle instances of victim blaming? How do you all feel about victim blaming? Is it really a big issue?
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