Victim Blaming: The Dark Side of Sexual Assault Discourse
Victim Blaming: A Deep-Rooted Issue
When discussing crimes like robbery, murder, and sexual assault, our cities can often resemble the grimy, crime-ridden streets of Frank Miller’s Sin City. However, only a fraction of these dark realities make it to our television screens. The internet, despite being flooded with heart-wrenching stories, often buries crucial topics under an avalanche of viral cat videos, advertisements, and popular beauty bloggers. What remains is public opinion, both online and offline, which tends to polarize people into two distinct groups: those who empathize with the victim and demand justice for them, and those who find ways to shift some blame onto the victim themselves.
The Blame Game
No one openly admits to supporting a perpetrator. However, there are always individuals who, after condemning the criminal, add a “but”. This logic, although clear, reeks of subservience to a situation that no one seems willing or able to combat. For instance:
- “This guy is horrible and should be castrated, but she was asking for it.”
- “This scumbag should be locked up, but have you seen what she was wearing?”
- “I’m not defending the perpetrator, but I heard she was rude to him and provoked the attack.”
By doing so, a portion of society absolves itself of any responsibility for what happens under its nose. Why tackle the issue when it’s easier to blame the victim’s short skirt? Let’s ban our daughters from wearing them and label other fathers’ daughters as promiscuous. It’s a convenient solution where everyone else is to blame but oneself. Moreover, it costs nothing and requires no effort.
The Victim’s Advocates
At least the victim’s advocates are understandable. Shocked by the news, they stand firmly on the victim’s side and condemn anyone who suggests otherwise. There have been numerous cases where a woman was not raped, but a young man ended up behind bars because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The symbol of the victim is powerful and can sway public opinion. Isn’t this why Jesus remains popular? He was a victim, and people associate themselves with him.
The Complexity of the Issue
But can we strangle all criminals? Will the world become cleaner and safer because of it? When people blindly follow symbols and divide everything into black and white, nothing can function normally, including the criminal justice system. There’s no doubt that a horrifying number of rapes occur in Russia, but only a fraction of these cases are solved. Execution has never been a solution: violence begets violence, and punishment never serves as a lesson.
To understand the mindset of a rapist, one could read “Live Flesh” by English writer Ruth Rendell. Such issues cannot be resolved by imprisonment; this chimera can only be destroyed through treatment.
The Lack of Psychological Support
In Russia, there is no system of psychological protection for the population. Men in our country are not accustomed to discussing their personal problems with a psychologist. In contrast, almost every American family has its own family psychologist who helps cope with various difficulties, preventing them from escalating into pure evil. Our men and women are left to their own devices. I’m not asking to pity the criminals, but the blame for the crime does not lie solely with them. It’s a systemic problem that allows such individuals to thrive.
A Systemic Problem
Once, my friend was interrogated by a detective. He had participated in a demonstration and was caught by one of the security forces. In the detective’s office, the latter showed him a large, heavy folder—unsolved rape cases over a short period in a single southern city. The detective complained that real work was being neglected because the leadership constantly sent them on trivial tasks like dealing with protests and demonstrations. That is, most of the time, the police are engaged in meaningless work: paperwork, interrogating people who posted the wrong picture on their profile, random passersby with protest signs. Meanwhile, real cases are likely still gathering dust in that large folder. And there are tens of thousands of such folders across the country.
But we are outraged by the length of a skirt, the brightness of makeup, or, as radical individuals do, by male nature. People are afraid to think that solving this national problem requires titanic efforts to create new societal institutions (such as psychological help). But today, we are fighting among ourselves, discussing the consequences rather than the causes. Statistics will not change because of this. And if we do not change anything fundamentally today, there will be even more rapes tomorrow.
For further reading, consider exploring the works of Ruth Rendell, an authoritative figure in crime literature.
