Disturbing Rape Victim-Blaming Pamphlet Handed Out in Tennessee

by Roxann MtJoy · 2010-03-02 10:24:00 UTC
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Ladies: Imagine you are going about your day, working, and minding your own business. Suddenly, someone hands you a pamphlet titled "Women & Girls." Intrigued, you glance over it, only to realize you've just been handed a disturbing piece of victim-blaming propaganda by someone who thinks the way you are dressed is an open invitation to rape. That's just what happened to 19-year-old Keshia Canter last Tuesday in Bristol, Tennessee.

Canter was working the drive-thru window at her family's restaurant when a passenger in one of the customer cars passed her this leaflet, saying, "Even though nothing is showing, you’re being ungodly. You make men want to be sinful." Okaaaaaay.  See, the pamphlet begins with the line "You may have been given this leaflet because of the way you are dressed," and goes on to say that "some rape victims would not have been raped if they had dressed properly. So can we really say they were innocent victims?”

Yes, yes we can. Quite definitively, actually. It should go without saying that there is no such thing as an outfit that can be held responsible for rape. I am not even going to dignify the idea by telling you what Canter was actually wearing because it doesn't matter. The blame for rape rests entirely with one person: the rapist.

Obviously the anonymous author of this sick work disagrees, saying that "when a man looks on a woman to lust for her he has already committed adultery in his heart. If you are dressed in a way that tempts a men to do this secret (or not so secret) sin, you are a participant in the sin." At least the author is an equal opportunity bigot, portraying men as rapists-in-waiting who only need to see a sexy outfit before losing control, and women as naive, rape-baiting temptresses.

No one knows who originally wrote this leaflet since apparently the author was too cowardly to attach his name to his victim-blaming theory. If what you are doing is so righteous, why not stand behind it? Yet, despite the lack of a known author, this pamphlet has been popping up all over Bristol. At least the general consensus of the townspeople -- everyone from sexual assault activist to religious leaders -- is that this pamphlet is offensive and wrong. Hopefully the people passing out this literature take the hint and keep their vile, victim-blaming thoughts to themselves. Better yet, maybe they will see the light and realize that victims aren't actually to blame. Hey, a gal can dream.

Photo credit: Nigsby

Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer who previously worked as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is currently attending graduate school for theater in Mount Vernon, N.Y.
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