Heartless Judge in Rape Case Ridicules Victim, Calls Her "Stupid" and "Naïve'"
December 14, 2007News & Politics
Canada, Dec. 13: "Nothing like some good old victim-blaming. A judge ruling a Canada rape case called the 18-year old survivor 'stupid' and 'naïve' for getting into a car with the offender, who then brought her to a cemetery to rape her."
Consider for a moment, how stupid victim-blaming really is, when rapists are, if nothing else, opportunists who exploit the goodness of people's natures and prey on weaknesses.
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To have a judge refer to the victim of a vicious rape as stupid is a disservice of the highest degree, the Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse said yesterday.
The comments from CCASA executive director Deb Tomlinson come a day after Justice John Rooke called the victim of a sexual attack "naive" and "stupid."
"I think by making these comments, this judge is doing a disservice to all of society," said Tomlinson.
"By pointing the finger at the victim, and not at the offender where it belongs ... it is going to keep more women from coming forward and reporting these crimes."Cue my refrain, first said here, about victim-blaming: Left to my own devices, I never would have been raped. The rapist was really the key component to the whole thing. I was sober; hardly scantily clad (another phrase appearing once in the article), I was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt; I was at home; my sexual history was, literally, nonexistent--I was a virgin; I struggled; I said no. There have been times since when I have been walking home, alone, after a few drinks, wearing something that might have shown a bit of leg or cleavage, and I wasn't raped. The difference was not in what I was doing. The difference was the presence of a rapist.
Consider for a moment, how stupid victim-blaming really is, when rapists are, if nothing else, opportunists who exploit the goodness of people's natures and prey on weaknesses.
Click here to read the rest of this post.
