Victim blaming: It’s time to stop

Vermillion is a generally safe place to live, but sexual assaults happen everywhere and when they do, it’s important we pay attention to how we’re addressing them. 

One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. RAINN also states women ages 18-24 who are college students are three times more likely than women in general to experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. 

These statistics are worrisome to say the least. That means almost every woman enrolled at USD is at heightened risk of being sexually assaulted, for simply being a woman. 

Sexual violence has many long-term effects. RAINN states 94% of women who have been sexually assaulted experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the two weeks following the assault and 30% reported symptoms nine months after the assault. 33% of women who have been assaulted also contemplate suicide. 

But with many sexual assault cases comes the horrifying trend of victim blaming, as if the victims didn’t have to go through enough. 

When women do come forward with their assault stories, they’re often bombarded with questions about what they were wearing, how much they were drinking that night, why they didn’t yell for help and why they put themselves in the position to be harmed.

Asking these kinds of questions reinforces the idea women are to blame when they are attacked. Why are we giving perpetrators an excuse to not take responsibility for their actions? 

Often times, we forget the crime was not committed by the victim. 

I think it’s hard for people to come to terms with the fact that something horrible like a sexual assault could happen to them, so they victim blame. If they hold the victim responsible, it’s easier for someone to say, “Well I wouldn’t put myself in that situation, so that won’t happen to me.” 

People blame the victims because they want to feel safe. 

But that seems wrong, right? 

When we have fears, we should face them and deal with them in ways that are healthy and beneficial for our growth.

Acknowledging the fears we have, educating ourselves about them and working through them helps us become stronger individuals. We need to do the same with sexual assault. 

According to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, victim blaming can cause emotional distress in victims that ultimately reduces the willingness to report future abuses if they occur. 

“Victims who have been blamed prefer to avoid secondary victimization in the future, so they do not report further crime.” 

If horrible things aren’t reported, horrible things aren’t going to stop happening. 

Sadly, at the end of the day, we all need to understand there are horrible things happening in every community. Yes, even safe, small-town Vermillion. 

Instead of placing blame on victims of sexual assault, we need to educate ourselves so we can prevent it from happening further. We shouldn’t be blaming victims for the things happening to them. Instead of projecting out fears onto victims, we need to face the issue and find ways to combat it.