This is Not an Invitation to RAPE Me

The myth persists that only rape by a stranger counts as ‘real rape’, in spite of the fact that the vast majority of attacks are carried out by someone known to the victim (often her husband or partner), and are every bit as damaging.

Special thanks to India Spice

(GLASGOW) - With This Is Not An Invitation To Rape Me, Rape Crisis Scotland wants to confront attitudes blaming women for rape in a very direct way, and invites members of the public in Scotland to join us in putting an end to these attitudes. The campaign comprises a range of images (and supporting materials) that invite you to examine your own attitude to the situations presented, and enter the debate that we hope our campaign will generate.

Recent Amnesty research (2005) found that:

• 34% of people thought that a woman was fully or partially responsible for being raped if she behaved in a ‘flirtatious’ manner

• 30% of people thought that a woman was fully or partially responsible for being raped if she was drunk

• 26% of people thought that a woman was fully or partially responsible for being raped if she was wearing ‘sexy or revealing’ clothing

• 22% of people thought that a woman was fully or partially responsible for being raped if she has had many sexual partners.

These findings are similar to other public attitude surveys: Zero Tolerance research into young people’s attitudes found that 1 in 2 boys and 1 in 3 girls thought it was acceptable for a man to force a woman to have sex in certain circumstances.

Women are blamed particularly if they have been drinking before being raped, if they dress in a manner deemed to be ‘provocative’, or if they have engaged in some level of intimacy with their attacker before an assault. Women who suffer rape in the context of a marriage or other intimate partnership are also seriously disadvantaged by public attitudes, which often support the view that by entering into this marriage or relationship, they have somehow given up their right to refuse consent to sex.

The myth persists that only rape by a stranger counts as ‘real rape’, in spite of the fact that the vast majority of attacks are carried out by someone known to the victim (often her husband or partner), and are every bit as damaging.

Special thanks to India Spice

indianspice.co.za/2010/06/this-is-not-an-invitation-to-rape-me/