Victim Blaming Seems to Be a New Trend
Victim Blaming Seems to Be a New Trend
Statistics
Every 98 seconds someone in the U.S is sexually assaulted. The age and gender don’t matter, it could happen to anyone. Sadly, this does include toddlers and younger children.
1 in 6 women experience some type of sexual assault. 1 in 33 men experience some type of sexual assault. 1 in 10 rape victims are men.
Picture showing the statistics of sexual assault.
What is Victim Blaming?
Victim blaming is when someone says, implies, or treats a person who has experienced harmful or abusive behavior as if they are at fault for what happened to them. Sexual violence is never the victim's fault. Sexual violence happens because a person decides to act in a harmful way.
Sexual violence does not happen because of what someone was wearing, or because they were “asking for it.” The victim has no control over the situation and should not be blamed for the actions of others.
It was not the victim's fault.
Victim Blaming with Women
Students protesting sexual assault.
When a woman comes forward about sexual assault, a lot of times they are asked something like “oh, well what were you wearing?” This statement is one of the single most hurtful things you can say to someone coming out after experiencing sexual assault. It automatically makes the victim feel invalidated, and regret telling you about their trauma.
Society holds women to unrealistic standards when it comes to appearance. We expect woman to look and act a certain way, but when something happens the response is “well what were you wearing,” or “well you were asking for it.”
In the video it talks about the struggles of being a woman, and of the standards society holds women too. It talks about how women must dress so they don’t tempt men. It is not a women’s job to dress, so a man does not sexually assault her.
Victim Blaming in Men
People often forget that victim blaming, and sexual assault can also happen to men. When men come out about sexual assault, they experienced a lot of the time someone will say “you’re a guy, that can't happen to you,” or “you should have known it was going to happen, consider yourself lucky.’ Society often downplays when sexual assault happens to men, because it doesn’t happen as often as it does to women.
Gender Bias also plays a role in victim blaming. We treat men differently when they come out about sexual assault simply because they are men. Women blame men for sexual violence that happens and often forget men can be victims too. By taking away the stereotype e men will feel more confident about coming out about their assault.
Victim Blaming in Relationships
Just because you are in a relationship does not mean you won’t experience sexual violence from your partner. Just because you are dating someone does not mean you have consent to do anything, and just because you had consented the night before does not mean you have consent today.
Also, if a person stays in an abusive relationship, it does not mean they aren’t victims. They shouldn’t have to hear people say “Oh, well you’re letting it happen.” A lot of times victims will stay with their abusers since it is the best option at the time. This could be because of financial problems or other factors we do not know about.
How to stop Victim Blaming
So, how do people stop victim blaming? Simple, don’t make the victim feel as if it was their fault. This will help build the victim's voice and help them speak out about it more. If you hear the victim blaming confront it. By being able to recognize when victim blaming is happening, it will help bring awareness to others who might not realize they are victims blaming.
If we can stop the trend of victim blaming, then more victims will feel more confident about coming forward about their abuse. Victims will have more of a voice and be less scared about being blamed for what happened.
We also need to start teaching men that the way someone is dressed, doesn’t mean that they have consent. In general, consent should be taught in schools. A lot of teens do not fully understand consent, so maybe if it is taught in schools, it will help lower the numbers of sexual assault. Parents should also teach consent at home, starting off with the basic idea of consent. This could be asking if their kid wants a hug before hugging them. If the child says no, then the parent wouldn’t hug their kid. By doing this the kid will understand they should ask before acting, and if they are told no, they shouldn’t try to do that action. It is also important to remember that
Abuse is never the victim’s fault.
National Sexual Assault Hotline:
800-656-4673
National helpline for male survivors:
National Street Harassment hotline:
855-897-5910
National Domestic Violence Hotline:
800-799-SAFE
Love is respect:
866-331-9474
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