Recently there has been a (very justifiable!) outcry after a lawyer showed a rape victims underwear in an Irish court. The alleged rapist was found not guilty.
So does what someone wears make them more or less likely to be raped?
The answer of course is an unequivocal ‘NO’.
This myth is based on the idea that rape and sex are the same thing, and that rapists are choosing a victim that they are attracted to. This tweet by @dylanhm gives a great analogy – that rape is to sex what being hit with a shovel is to gardening. They use the same tools, but that doesn’t make them the same thing.
Rape isn’t about sex or arousal – it’s about having power over someone, exerting dominance, and controlling that person. It can also be a way for some men to get ‘revenge’ on women, either an individual or women as a group, or a result of some men’s belief that they are owed sex.
The thing is, even if clothing was a risk factor for rape, it would still be irrelevant. No-one ever deserves to be raped, and every person in our society should be able to dress in a way that makes them feel good, without being blamed if they are raped.
Of course, the same goes for other forms of sexual violence, like harassment. So when there has been an allegation of harassment in the workplace we should never allow what the survivor was wearing to be used as an excuse, or allow it to sway our judgement. The behaviour and the impact on the survivor are the important things to consider – not whether her top is a bit low cut.
So those knickers were irrelevant, and all that showing them achieved was further traumatising a woman who had been through a horrifying experience. As is always the case, the only person to blame for rape, is the rapist.
As for the 17 year old survivor in this case – I believe her. Want to know why? Keep reading my series on rape myths, as I’ll be writing more about belief and false accusations in future posts.
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